INFLUENCE  OF  CHRIST 
MODERN  LIFE 


EWELL    DWIGHT   H I LLI  S 


THE   INFLUENCE   OF  CHRIST 
IN    MODERN   LIFE 


IN  MODERN  LIFE/ 

Sting 

A  STUDY  OF  THE  NEW  PROBLEMS  OF  THE 
CHURCH  IN  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


BY 

NEWELL    DWIGHT    HILLIS 

PASTOR  OF  PLYMOUTH  CHURCH,  BROOKLYN 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:   MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 


All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1900, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped  December,  1900.    Reprinted  October, 
1901. 


Norfaoott 

J.  8.  Gushing  &  Co.  -  Berwick  *  Smith 
Norwood  Mm.  U.S.A. 


DR.  W.  C.  GRAY 

EDITOR  OF  "  THE  INTERIOR  " 

WITH  ADMIRATION  FOR  HIS  WORK,  AND  GRATITUDE 

FOR  HIS  STIMULATING  FRIENDSHIP 


PREFACE 

BY  way  of  preeminence  the  era  now  closing 
has  been  an  era  of  criticism  and  destruction. 
Nothing  has  escaped  the  crucible.  Scholars  have 
carried  the  method  of  the  laboratory  into  the 
library,  the  gallery,  the  legislative  hall,  and  even 
into  the  temples  of  religion.  Old  poems,  old  his- 
tories, old  science,  old  creeds,  have  been  pulled  to 
pieces,  and  studied  part  by  part.  With  some  the 
analytic  spirit  has  become  a  frenzy,  and  the  love 
of  dissection  a  morbid  passion.  With  others 
analysis  has  represented  a  desire  to  know  the 
exact  facts.  Now  that  the  wave  of  criticism  has 
passed  by,  changes  many  and  great  are  found  to 
have  taken  place.  Nothing  remains  as  it  was. 
The  old  astronomy,  the  old  medicine,  the  old 
architecture,  the  old  ploughs  and  ships,  and  the 
old  theology  have  passed  away.  We  have  a  new 
chemistry,  a  new  pedagogy,  a  new  psychology. 
Nevertheless,  the  change  is  more  apparent  than 
real.  If  the  new  astronomy  has  come,  men  are 


viii  Preface 

warmed  by  the  same  old  stars  and  sun.  Our  psy- 
chology is  new,  but  reason,  memory,  and  judg- 
ment are  what  they  were  when  Plato  thought  and 
David  dreamed.  The  creeds  may  have  changed, 
but  not  the  obligations  of  conscience  and  duty,  or 
man's  relation  to  his  God.  If  the  gains  of  our 
critical  era  have  been  large,  the  losses  also  have 
been  heavy.  Criticism  moves  in  a  very  limited 
field.  Its  restraints  are  severe.  Oft  from  endur- 
ing Truth  it  hears  the  words,  "  Here  stay  thy 
proud  waves;  thus  far  and  no  farther."  Fortu- 
nately the  analytic  spirit  soon  discovers  that  he 
who  picks  a  flower  to  pieces  loses  it.  For  the 
botanist,  the  field  daisy  means  a  mass  of  petals 
torn  part  from  part,  while  for  Robert  Burns  "the 
wee  crimson-tipped  flower  "  means  a  sweet  poem 
and  hours  of  rapturous  delight.  And  now  that 
the  intellect  has  completed  its  analytic  work,  our 
generation  has  come  to  realize  that  the  heart  with 
its  hunger  is,  as  before,  unappeased.  Religion  is 
the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man.  The  creed 
is  the  outer,  verbal  photograph  of  that  inner,  vital 
experience.  Man's  interest  in  those  verbal  pic- 
tures named  creeds,  unfortunately,  seems  waning, 
while  his  interest  in  religion  is  steadily  waxing. 
As  Edmund  Burke  once  said,  "  Man  is  by  con- 
stitution a  religious  animal." 


Preface  hr 

Now  that  the  destructive  era  has  closed,  from 
the  view-point  of  the  new  scholarship  many  are 
beginning  to  feel  that  the  critical  epoch  was,  after 
all,  an  epoch  of  mediocrity  and  second-rate  in- 
tellect. All  the  great  eras  in  art  and  literature 
have  been  creative  eras  rather  than  critical.  Just 
because  it  was  not  a  great  age,  and  because  the 
interest  in  literature  was  at  a  very  low  ebb,  the 
age  of  Alexander  Pope  analyzes,  annotates,  and 
comments  upon  books  that  another  generation  had 
written.  Conscious  of  its  slender  intellectual  gifts, 
that  age  dissected  old  dramas  and  poems,  and  wrote 
essays  upon  the  departed  teachers.  Later  came 
a  return  of  the  tide,  in  the  era  of  Robert  Burns 
and  Wordsworth,  when  the  tides  of  genius  rose 
to  the  flood,  and  the  creative  spirit  was  manifest 
not  in  analysis,  but  in  outbursts  of  spontaneous 
and  immortal  song.  Swept  forward  upon  the  new 
current,  exultant  with  admiration  and  delight,  the 
generation  was  so  busy  in  enjoying  and  transmut- 
ing the  new  ideals  into  terms  of  life  and  charac- 
ter, that  it  forgot  the  drudgery  of  analysis  and 
dissection.  In  his  preparatory  work  the  youth 
enters  the  laboratory  to  study  the  human  body, 
counting  its  bones  and  studying  the  chemical  ele- 
ments of  nerves  and  muscles.  Later,  when  the 
young  Romeo  meets  Juliet,  he  is  lifted  into  a  new 


x  Preface 

realm  by  the  new  friendship,  and  never  thinks  of 
reducing  the  beautiful  girl  to  a  group  of  small 
jars  marked  "  lime,"  "  phosphate,"  and  "  carbon." 
And  there  are  the  best  of  reasons  for  believing 
that  in  religion  the  critical  epoch  has  gone  and 
the  creative  era  has  come.  Plainly  there  is  a  new 
spirit  in  letters,  in  art,  in  philosophy,  and  in  reli- 
gion. If  once  the  pendulum  moved  far  toward 
doubt,  now  it  is  swinging  back  toward  faith. 
There  is  a  growing  interest  in  the  great  simplici- 
ties of  Christianity,  and  these  chapters,  some  of 
which  have  been  used  as  addresses  before  various 
colleges  and  universities,  represent  an  attempt  to 
distinguish  between  the  transient  and  permanent 
elements  of  religion.  They  are  not  written  from 
the  view  point  of  the  scholar  or  the  philosopher, 
for  treatises  addressed  to  these  classes  are  num- 
berless ;  they  are  written  for  the  educated  young 
men  of  the  country,  who  are  troubled  by  the  scep- 
ticism of  the  times,  and  for  the  multitudes  who 
are  busied  with  the  ten  thousand  duties  of  the 
counting-room,  the  market-place,  and  the  factory, 
but  yet  find  time  to  ask  what  is  left  of  the  evangel 
of  Christ,  now  that  the  critical  era  has  passed 
away.  It  should  also  be  said  that  every  one  of 
these  studies  has  grown  out  of  a  busy  pastor's 
friendship  with  some  person  in  travail  of  spirit, 


.    Preface  xi 

and  seeking  light  midst  the  mist  and  uncertainty 
of  questioning  and  doubt.  Each  chapter,  there- 
fore, represents  an  intellectual  battle  in  some  youth 
for  whom  the  pastor  has  cherished  a  great  affec- 
tion, —  a  fact  that  explains  the  methods  used  and 
the  arguments  that  are  marshalled.  If,  twenty 
years  ago,  the  tides  of  faith  seemed  to  be  ebbing 
away,  to-day  there  is  a  return,  and  the  stream  that 
at  first  rose  to  the  ankles  is  now  deepening  into 
a  rising  flood.  The  most  striking  fact  in  modern 
life  is  the  growing  reverence  for  the  teachings  and 
character  of  Jesus  Christ.  As  once  his  brothers' 
sheaves  bowed  down  before  Joseph's  sheaf,  so 
to-day  art,  literature,  law,  trade,  reform,  manifest 
more  and  more  reverence  for  that  divine  teacher 
whose  sublime  figure  already  fills  the  whole  hori- 
zon, and  whose  teachings  are  founded  as  surely  as 
the  mountains  and  stars. 


NEWELL  DWIGHT  HILLIS. 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH, 

BROOKLYN, 
October  25, 1900. 


CONTENTS 

I.    The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and  its  Place 

in  American  Life  and  Thought       .        •        .         i 

II.    Social  Progress  and  the  Influence  of  Jesus  Christ 

in  Civilization        .        .        .  .'       .      39 

III.  "Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example  of  Genius 

in  the  Realm  of  Intellect "  .        .        .      61 

IV.  The  Supremacy  of  Christ  in  the  Realm  of  Ideal 

Character      .        .        .        »•        .        .        -87 

V.    The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ  as  a  Re- 
ligious Teacher     .        .        .   •''  .  \.   .        .in 

VI.    God's  Silence  and  His  Voices  Also :  a  Study  of 

Nature's  Concealments  and  Disclosures .        .     137 

VII.    The  Higher  Nature  of  Man  as  a  Revelation  of 

God *       .        .     157 

VIII.    The  Old  and  the  New  Conceptions  of  God        .     179 

IX.  Evolution  and  Christianity:  Every  Theory  of 
Development  asks  for  an  Infinite  God  to 
make  the  Theory  Workable  .  .  .  .201 

X.    Evolution  and  the  New  View  of  the  Bible  .        .    227 


xiv  Contents 

XI.  The  Swing  of  the  Pendulum  from  Scepticism  to 
Faith :  an  Outlook  for  those  who  are  seeking 
to  solve  their  Doubts  and  reconstruct  a  Work- 
ing Faith 255 

XII.     Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet,  the  Philosopher, 

the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer     ....     279 

XIII.  Fear,  Law,  and  Love  as  Motives  of  Life     .        -311 

XIV.  The  Automatic  Judgment   Seat   in   Man  :    an 

Outlook  upon  the  Problem  whether  Theistic 
Evolution  throws  Any  Light  upon  Christ's 
View  of  Future  Punishment ....  337 

XV.     The  Church :    its  Problems  and   Claims  upon 

American  Society 369 

INDEX  .        .        . 397 


Neto  Problems  of  tlje  Pulpit  auto  its 
in  American  Hife  anD 


"  If  our  religious  tenets  should  ever  want  a  further  elucida- 
tion, we  shall  not  call  on  atheism  to  explain  them.  We  shall 
not  light  up  our  temple  from  that  unhallowed  fire." 

"  We  know,  and  it  is  our  pride  to  know,  that  man  is,  by 
his  constitution,  a  religious  animal."  —  BURKE. 

"  Man  is  incurably  religious."  —  SABATIER. 

"The  ministers  of  Christianity,  departing  from  Asia 
Minor,  traversing  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe,  to  Iceland,  Green- 
land and  the  poles  of  the  earth,  suffering  all  things,  enduring 
all  things,  raising  men  everywhere  from  the  ignorance  of  idol 
worship  to  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  and  everywhere 
bringing  life  and  immortality  to  light  through  the  Gospel, 
have  only  been  acting  in  obedience  to  the  divine  instruction ; 
they  were  commanded  to  go  forth,  and  they  have  gone  forth, 
and  they  still  go  forth.  They  have  sought,  and  they  still  seek, 
to  be  able  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature  under  the 
whole  heaven.  And  where  was  Christianity  ever  received, 
where  were  its  truths  ever  poured  into  the  human  heart,  where 
did  its  waters,  springing  up  into  everlasting  life,  ever  burst 
forth,  except  in  the  track  of  a  Christian  ministry?  Did  we 
ever  hear  of  an  instance,  does  history  record  an  instance,  of 
any  part  of  the  globe  Christianized  by  lay  preachers,  or  'lay 
teachers '  ?  And  descending  from  kingdoms  and  empires 
to  cities  and  countries,  to  parishes  and  villages,  do  we  not  all 
know,  that  wherever  Christianity  has  been  carried,  and 
wherever  it  has  been  taught,  by  human  agency,  that  agency 
was  the  agency  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  ?  " 

—  DANIEL  WEBSTER'S  tribute  to  the  Christian  ministry. 


I 


THE  NEW  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  PULPIT  AND   ITS 
PLACE  IN  AMERICAN  LIFE  AND  THOUGHT 

The  scope  and  philosophy  of  preaching.  Christ's  choice 
of  the  pulpit  as  the  instrument  of  social  progress.  The  influ- 
ence of  moral  teachers  upon  social  institutions.  Great  preach- 
ers and  pulpits  as  springs  of  literature.  Daniel  Webster's 
testimony  to  the  influence  of  moral  teachers.  The  so-called 
decay  of  the  pulpit,  based  upon  misconception.  No  ground 
for  thinking  that  books,  magazines,  and  papers  are  to  dispos- 
sess the  pulpit.  Printed  truth  fragmentary  and  imperfect. 
Preaching  is  the  truth  in  personality  and  involves  weight  of 
character.  Great  reforms  less  through  great  books  than 
through  the  great  men  who  wrote  them.  Individual  worth 
and  culture  the  true  method  of  enriching  the  state.  Preach- 
ing difficult  because  the  great  poets,  artists,  and  novelists  have 
now  become  prophets  and  preachers.  The  very  achievements 
of  the  church  of  yesterday  dictate  new  victories  and  more 
difficult  ones  for  to-morrow.  The  materialistic  tendency  and 
the  alienation  of  the  very  rich  and  the  very  poor.  The  new 
intellectual  and  physical  demands  made  upon  the  ministry. 
The  work  of  moral  instruction  the  freest  and  happiest  of  the 
professions,  and  one  involving  daily  rewards. 

"T)REACHING  is  man-making,  man-saving, 
-*-  and  character-building.  On  the  one  hand 
it  is  a  science,  dealing  with  reason,  affection, 

3 


4          The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

aspiration,  and  conscience.  It  concerns  the  fac- 
ulties of  the  soul,  their  number  and  nature,  and 
those  divine  laws  by  which  the  soul  passes  from 
littleness  to  largeness,  and  from  immaturity  to 
ripeness  and  perfection.  On  the  other  side 
^  preaching  is  an  art,  and  has  to  do  with  the  prob- 
lems of  right  living.  It  teaches  the  art  of  so 
carrying  reason,  ambition,  and  purpose  as  to 
secure  happiness  and  growth  for  one's  self  with 
peace  and  prosperity  for  others.  The  basis  upon 
which  preaching  rests  is  the  fundamental  fact 
that  man  begins  not  full-orbed,  but  the  mere 
seed  of  manhood,  at  a  point  named  nothing. 
For  no  other  living  creature  is  born  so  far  away 
V/  from  that  point  named  maturity.  God  has  or- 
dained that  just  in  proportion  as  living  things 
rise  in  the  scale  of  creation  the  period  of  time 
involved  in  their  development  is  extended.  At 
the  bottom  of  creation  lies  the  insect  world. 
The  ephemera  are  born  to-day,  to-morrow  are 
full  grown,  and  on  the  third  day  they  die.  Also 
for  the  lark,  with  its  sweet  song,  maturity  dwells 
close  beside  the  nest  in  which  the  young  bird- 
ling  lies  beneath  its  mother's  wing.  Because 
the  flocks  and  herds  are  higher,  the  ox  and 
sheep  ask  full  three  years  for  their  maturity, 
while  in  Siam  the  burden-bearing  elephant  asks 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought        5 

for  ten  summers  and  winters  for  perfect  growth 
and  maturity.  But  man  is  the  lord  of  creation. 
He  begins  a  little  lump  of  flesh,  a  handful  of 
intellectual  germs,  a  bundle  of  moral  roots.  Man 
begins  so  far  away  from  home  that  four  score 
years  are  required  for  his  growth  and  devel- 
opment. How  wondrous  are  these  germinal 
faculties  named  intellect,  memory,  imagination, 
judgment,  moral  sentiment  —  faculties  more  than 
two  score  in  number !  And  for  their  unfolding 
homes  are  established,  schools  are  founded,  the 
college,  the  library,  the  gallery,  are  made  rich. 
In  God's  providence  all  the  duties  of  friendship, 
with  life's  temptations,  its  defeats  and  victories 
are  educive  and  are  instruments  of  development. 
Slowly,  therefore,  man  passes  from  ignorance  to 
wisdom ;  just  as  a  seed  becomes  a  golden  sheaf ; 
just  as  an  acorn  becomes  an  acorn-covering  oak, 
so  when  God's  truth  is  brought  to  bear  upon 
conduct,  the  child  goes  toward  the  stature  of 
the  sage  or  seer,  the  reformer  or  martyr. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  man  is  born  without 
original  righteousness ;  and  man  is  also  born 
without  original  arithmetic,  original  geography, 
original  history,  or  original  industry.  Beginning 
in  ignorance,  slowly  the  pupil  climbs  to  the  level 
of  his  wise  teacher.  Beginning  inexpert  in  mix- 


6          The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

ing  colors,  slowly  the  young  artist  climbs  to  the 
level  of  his  great  master.  By  long  study  and 
patient  drill,  the  aspirant  for  wealth  or  fame  or 
power  enters  into  the  full  possession  of  his  intel- 
lectual and  moral  gifts.  And  we  are  not  sur- 
prised that  man's  growth  in  morals  requires 
drill,  study,  and  practice.  If  the  intellect  asks 
for  its  college,  the  spiritual  faculty  must  also 
have  its  school  of  instruction.  In  reality,  there- 
fore, the  church  is  a  university  of  morals  for 
right  living.  It  is  a  school  where  the  Bible  is 
the  divine  handbook  and  guide  in  life.  It  is  a 
lecture  hall  where  the  old  Hebrew  prophets, 
poets,  and  kings  stand  forth  to  ply  men  some- 
times with  words  of  hope  and  encouragement, 
and  sometimes  with  words  of  fear  and  alarm, 
and  where  at  last  Christ  appears,  our  Master  and 
Model,  but  also  our  Saviour  and  King.  And  what 
the  library  and  lecture  hall  do  for  the  develop- 
ment of  reason  ;  what  the  art  gallery  and  the 
great  master  do  for  taste  and  imagination,  that 
the  church  and  the  preacher  are  to  do  for  con- 
science and  the  moral  sentiments.  And  by  so 
much  as  character  outweighs  mere  intellect,  by 
that  much  does  the  work  of  man-building  sur- 
pass system-building.  There  is  no  art  like  the 
art  of  right  living.  There  is  no  science  like 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought        7 

the   science   of   character-building,   winning,    and 
loving. 

Having  lingered  long  in  foreign  climes  and 
countries,  Plutarch  returned  home  to  affirm  that 
he  had  found  cities  without  walls,  without  liter- 
ature, without  coin  or  kings  ;  people  who  know 
not  the  forum,  the  theatre,  or  gymnasium ; 
"  but,"  added  the  traveller,  "  there  never  was, 
nor  shall  there  ever  be,  a  city  without  temple, 
church,  or  chapel."  Since  Plutarch's  time  many 
centuries  have  come  and  gone,  yet  for  thought- 
ful men  the  passing  years  have  only  strength- 
ened the  conviction  that  not  until  cities  are 
hung  in  the  air,  instead  of  founded  upon  rock, 
can  the  ideal  commonwealth  be  established  or 
maintained  without  foundations  of  morals  and 
religion.  Were  it  possible  for  the  ancient  trav- 
eller to  come  forth  from  his  tomb,  and,  moving 
slowly  down  the  aisles  of  time,  to  step  foot  into 
the  scene  and  city  midst  which  we  now  do  dwell, 
he  would  find  that,  in  the  influence  of  religious 
teachers  upon  liberty,  literature,  art,  and  indus- 
try, that  would  fully  justify  the  reassertion  of 
the  conviction  expressed  so  many  centuries  ago. 
Indeed,  many  students  of  the  rise  and  reign  of 
the  common  people  make  t&e  history  of  social 
progress  to  be  very  largely  tre  history  of  those 


8          The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

teachers  who  have  lifted  up  before  men  Chris- 
tian ideals  and  principles,  as  beacon  lights  for 
the  human  race.  The  influence  of  the  pulpit 
seems  to  justify  Christ's  selection  of  moral  in- 
struction as  his  instrument  of  social  reform. 

Standing  before  the  cathedral  of  Wittenberg, 
Jean  Paul  uncovered  his  head  and  said,  "  The 
story  of  the  German  language  and  literature  is 
the  story  of  Martin  Luther's  pulpit."  Webster 
through  stately  oration,  Rufus  Choate  through 
impassioned  address,  James  Anthony  Froude 
through  polished  essay,  have  alike  affirmed  that 
the  town  meeting  and  our  representative  gov- 
ernment go  back  to  that  little  pulpit  in  the 
Swiss  city  of  Geneva.  In  the  realm  of  literature, 
also,  it  is  highly  significant  that  Shakespeare, 
Milton,  and  Tennyson  received  their  literary  in- 
strument as  a  free  gift  from  those  monks  named 
Cadmon  and  Bede,  and  those  pastors  who  gave 
us  the  King  James  version  of  the  Bible.  Modern 
sermons  may  have  become  "dry  as  dust,"  yet 
the  time  was  when  the  English  pulpit  united 
the  functions  of  lecture  hall  and  library,  news- 
paper and  book.  For  the  beginning  of  our 
Saxon  speech,  Miiller  and  Whitney  take  us  back 
to  the  cloisters  a^i^hapels  of  old  England.  But 
Addison  affirmed  that  the  sermons  of  two  preach- 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought       9 

ers,  Tillotson  and  Barrow,  were  the  standards 
of  perfection  in  English  writing,  and  projected 
a  dictionary  that  had  for  its  authority  the  words 
and  phrases  used  in  the  writings  of  these  two 
preachers,  whom  the  essayist  thought  had  shaped 
English  speech  and  literature.  Lord  Chatham 
once  referred  the  dignity  and  eloquence  of  his 
style  to  the  fact  that  he  had  committed  to  mem- 
ory the  sermons  of  the  same  Barrow. 

In  our  own  land,  speaking  of  the  pleas  for 
patriotism  and  liberty  that  were  heard  in  the 
pulpits  of  New  England  just  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, Emerson  said  the  Puritan  pulpits  were  "the  ^ 
springs  of  American  liberty " ;  while  in  the 
realm  of  education,  Horace  Mann  notes  the  fact 
that  one  pastor  in  New  Hampshire  trained  one 
hundred  men  for  the  learned  professions,  and 
another  country  pastor  one  hundred  and  twenty 
students,  including  Ezekiel  and  Daniel  Webster. 

Great  indeed  has  been  the  influence  of  war, 
politics,  commerce,  law,  science,  government ; 
yet  we  must  also  confess  that  the  pulpit  has 
been  one  of  the  great  forces  in  social  progress. 
Be  the  reasons  what  they  may,  the  prophets  of 
yesterday  are  still  the  social  leaders  of  to-day. 
To-morrow  Moses  will  reenter  his  pulpit,  and 
pronounce  judgment,  and  control  verdicts  in 


10        The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

every  court  of  the  city.  To-morrow,  as  Ger- 
mans, we  will  utter  the  speech  that  Luther  fash- 
ioned for  us,  or  as  Saxons  use  the  idioms  that 
Wycliffe  and  Bunyan  taught  our  fathers.  To- 
morrow the  groom  and  bride  will  set  up  their 
altars,  and,  kindling  the  sacred  fires  of  affection, 
they  will  found  their  home  upon  Paul's  princi- 
ple, "The  greatest  of  these  is  love."  To-mor- 
row the  citizen  will  exercise  his  privilege  of 
free  thought  and  speech,  and  remember  that 
democracy  crossed  over  into  Europe  in  the  little 
boat  that  brought  the  apostle  Paul.  To-morrow 
educators  will  reread  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
and  seek  to  make  rich  the  schools  for  the  little 
ones  who  bear  God's  image.  To-morrow  we 
shall  find  that  the  great  arts  that  enrich  us  were 
themselves  made  rich  by  teachers  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  For  great  thoughts  make  great 
thinkers. 

It  was  the  golden  rule  that  shotted  the  can- 
nons of  freedom  against  the  citadel  of  slavery 
and  servitude.  "The  economic  and  political 
struggle  of  modern  society,"  says  the  great  Eng- 
lish economist,  "are,  in  the  last  analysis,  religious 
struggles  —  their  sole  solution,  the  life  and  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  Christ  set  forth  through  the 
human  voice."  In  his  celebrated  argument  in 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      11 

the  Girard  College  case,  Daniel  Webster  reviewed 
the  upward  progress  of  society,  and  asked  this 
question,  "Where  have  the  life-giving  waters  of 
civilization  ever  sprung  up,  save  in  the  track  of 
the  Christian  ministry  ? "  Having  expressed  the 
hope  that  American  scholars  had  done  something 
for  the  honor  of  literature  abroad ;  that  our 
courts  of  justice  had,  to  a  little  degree,  exalted 
the  law;  that  the  orations  in  Congress  had 
tended  to  extend  and  secure  the  charter  of 
human  rights,  the  great  statesman  added  these 
words,  "  But  I  contend  that  no  literary  efforts, 
no  adjudications,  no  constitutional  discussions, 
nothing  that  has  ever  been  done  or  said  in 
favor  of  the  great  interests  of  universal  man, 
has  done  this  country  more  credit  at  home  and 
abroad  than  our  body  of  clergymen."  Weightier 
or  more  unqualified  testimony  was  never  pro- 
nounced. Whatever  the  future  may  hold  for  the 
pulpit,  the  past,  at  least,  is  secure! 

Having  affirmed  the  influence  of  the  pulpit 
in  early  and  ignorant  eras,  some  writers  now 
declare  the  pulpit  has  entered  upon  a  decline, 
and  predict  its  final  decay.  In  this  age  of 
books  and  papers,  men  question  the  need  of 
moral  instruction  through  the  voice.  Let  us 
confess  that  never  before  have  the  instruments 


12        The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

for  happiness  been  so  numerous  or  so  accessi- 
ble. The  modern  devices  for  increasing  knowl- 
edge are  now  so  artful  and  insistent,  the  very 
atmosphere  of  life  is  so  charged  with  informa- 
tion, as  almost  to  compel  wisdom  in  the  intelli- 
gent, and  forbid  illiteracy  in  the  stupid.  For 
the  training  of  reason,  the  printing-presses  toil 
day  and  night.  For  the  training  of  the  prac- 
tical sense,  science  has  increased  books  and 
stuffed  the  shelves  with  knowledge. 

For  the  training  of  taste  and  imagination  the 
artist  printer  and  photographer  have  united  for 
multiplying  pictures,  until  without  expense  or 
travel  the  youth  can  behold  the  faces  of  earth's 
greatest  men,  visit  distant  cities  and  historic 
civilization.  Never  before  have  educators  done 
so  much  for  child  life  and  culture.  As  soon  as 
the  babe  can  walk,  the  kindergarten  stands 
forth  to  allure  the  little  feet  into  the  temple  of 
knowledge.  For  youth  also  the  public  schools 
have  become  so  powerful  and  so  rich  that  pri- 
vate schools  find  it  difficult  to  live  under  their 
eaves.  New  forms  of  education  also  are  devel- 
oping. There  are  schools  that  train  the  hand 
to  use  the  tool,  train  the  arm  toward  self-sup- 
port, fit  the  boy  for  business  in  the  office  or 
store,  lend  skill  in  laying  the  foundations  of  the 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      13 

bridge,  or  springing  the  truss  over  some  build- 
ing. Technical  schools  have  arisen,  teaching  the 
use  and  control  of  the  electric  forces,  the  extrac- 
tion of  iron  from  crude  ores,  the  changing  of 
poisons  into  balms  and  remedies,  the  extraction 
of  oils  and  medicines  from  the  refuse  of  coal 
and  wood.  Commerce  and  trade,  too,  have  be- 
come so  complex  that  their  mastery  involves  a 
liberal  education. 

The  youth  who  has  sharp  eyes  and  a  hungry 
mind  can  now  have  culture  without  college.  He 
who  handles  cotton  goods  or  silk  or  wool,  and 
traces  the  rich  texture  back  to  the  looms  that 
wove  them,  ponders  the  mechanical  devices  that 
embroidered  faces  and  flowers  upon  the  silk, 
studies  the  dyes  by  which  the  white  wool  has 
become  crimson  or  black,  will  find  that  each 
step  lends  knowledge.  In  all  ages,  life  has 
been  a  university,  and  events  have  been  teach- 
ers, but  never  before  to  the  same  degree  as 
to-day.  Indeed,  the  youth  who  in  the  morn- 
ing goes  forth  to  his  task  and  walking  along 
watches  the  method  by  which  the  streets  are 
paved,  the  devices  for  lighting  and  draining 
them,  the  means  by  which  the  taxes  are  raised 
and  streets  paid  for;  who  enters  the  street-car 
to  journey  backward  in  thought  and  note  how 


14        The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

the  rude  ox-cart  has  become  the  palace-car;  who 
enters  the  market-place  and  the  forum,  to  buy 
and  sell  and  master  the  devices  of  production 
and  distribution,  will  find  that  knowledge  comes 
streaming  in  from  every  side.  And  to  all  these 
indirect  instruments  of  culture  must  be  added 
the  new  inventions  called  "culture  clubs."  Re- 
cently a  traveller  in  Scotland,  standing  upon  a 
mountain  cliff  overlooking  the  sea,  found  him- 
self in  great  danger.  It  seems  that  the  gar- 
dener desired  to  beautify  even  the  steep  cliffs 
and  precipices.  Loading  his  double-barrelled 
shotgun  with  seeds  of  flowers  and  vines,  he 
fired  the  seeds  up  into  the  crevices  of  the 
rocks.  Not  otherwise,  for  men  and  women  who 
have  a  few  moments  for  rest  between  the  hours, 
has  life  become  dangerous.  To-day,  one  can 
scarcely  turn  round  the  street  corner  without 
running  into  the  president  of  some  new  society, 
who  straightway  empties  into  the  victim  two 
volleys  of  talk  about  some  wisdom,  old  or  new. 
The  old  shotgun  is  less  dangerous  than  the  new 
weapon. 

Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  practical  life 
itself  is  a  university.  The  use  of  fire  and  wind 
and  water;  the  avoidance  of  stones  and  ani- 
mals and  poisons ;  the  mastery  of  the  body;  so 


,,s  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      15 

as  to  maintain  perfect  health  and  high-pressure 
brain  action  without  nerve  injury;  the  develop- 
ment of  skill  in  carrying  one's  faculties  through 
the  home,  the  store,  and  the  street,  the  gaining 
of  one's  livelihood  —  all  these  are  instruments 
divinely  ordained  for  the  culture  of  the  mind, 
and  for  the  increase  of  knowledge  and  wisdom. 
And  in  this  age,  when  ignorance  is  a  luxury 
that  only  idiots  can  afford,  and  knowledge  is 
universal,  many  have  come  to  feel  that  the  pul- 
pit is  a  waning  force.  It  is  said  that  the  teaching 
function  has  been  superseded  by  the  press,  by 
books  and  magazines;  that  the  ethical  ideas  of 
Christ  are  now  so  fully  developed  as  to  be 
organized  into  institutions,  becoming  automatic, 
and  therefore  no  longer  needing  a  special  voice 
for  their  enunciation.  Of  heaven  it  is  said, 
"There  shall  be  no  temple  there,"  nor  shall 
any  teacher  need  to  say,  "Know  the  Lord,"  for 
all  shall  know  him.  And  many  have  risen  up 
to-day  who  assert  that  the  pulpit  of  yesterday  has 
made  unnecessary  the  pulpit  of  to-morrow ;  that 
Christianity  has  now  been  organized  into  our 
social,  domestic,  economic,  and  political  institu- 
tions, thereby  becoming  self-publishing.  Those 
kind-hearted  persons  who  once  wept  lest  the 
loom  and  the  engine  should  destroy  the  work- 


16        The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

ing  people  are  now  engaged  in  daily  shedding  a 
few  tears  over  the  pulpit,  soon  to  be  sadly  in- 
jured by  the  press,  the  magazines,  and  books. 

Thoughtful  men  are  not  troubled  lest  some 
agency  arise  to  dispossess  the  pulpit.  In  the 
last  analysis,  preaching  is  simply  an  extension 
of  that  universal  function  called  conversation. 
It  represents  an  attempt  so  to  bring  the  truth 
to  bear  upon  conduct  and  character  as  to  cleanse 
the  reason,  sweeten  the  affections,  and  lend 
inspiration  to  imagination ;  so  as  to  strengthen 
conscience  and  refine  the  moral  sentiment.  The 
foundation  of  all  moral  instruction  is  in  the 
family,  where  children  are  influenced,  not  by 
attractions,  but  by  the  truth  manifest  in  the 
voice  of  the  father  and  the  mother,  who  create 
an  atmosphere  about  the  child.  Socrates  came 
speaking,  as  did  Plato  and  Paul,  as  did  the 
world's  Saviour ;  and  so  long  as  man  remains 
man,  preaching  will  remain,  not  as  a  luxury,  but 
as  the  necessity  of  man's  existence.  So  far 
from  books  doing  away  with  the  influence  of 
the  voice,  they  seem  rather  to  increase  it.  In 
ages  when  there  were  no  books,  men  sat  silent 
in  the  cell  or  were  dumb  by  the  hearthstone. 
Now  that  a  new  book  is  published,  like  "  The 
Memoirs  of  Tennyson,"  or  "The  Letters  of  the 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      17 

Brownings,"  or  "The  Life  of  Gladstone,"  or 
"The  Life  of  Cromwell,"  these  books,  instead 
of  ending  conversation  upon  the  themes  in  ques- 
tion, seem  rather  to  open  anew  the  flood-gates  of 
speech,  so  that  a  thousand  readers  break  forth 
into  discussion  who  before  were  dumb  and  silent. 
Great  is  the  power  of  books !  Wonderful  the 
influence  of  the  press !  But  the  printing-press 
is  only  a  patent  drill  that  goes  forth  to  sow  the 
land  with  the  great  seed  of  civilization.  But 
while  the  drill  may  scatter  the  wheat  upon  the 
cold  ground,  it  may  not  pour  warmth  about  the 
frozen  clouds  or  shed  forth  the  refreshing  dew 
or  rain.  When  the  living  man  called  Luther  or 
Whitfield  or  Wesley  or  Beecher  or  Brooks  shines 
forth,  then  the  mind  lends  warmth  to  frigid 
natures,  calls  down  dew  and  rain  upon  the 
newly  sown  seed,  lends  light  and  inspiration  to 
dull  and  sodden  natures. 

Should  some  Plato  appear  to-morrow  in  some 
hall,  he  need  not  fear  lest  the  books  have  dis- 
possessed him  of  his  mission.  A  book  is  simply  \Y 
the  mummy  of  a  soul.  A  library  is  a  graveyard 
where  intellects  lie  buried.  A  printed  page 
catches  and  holds  the  passing  thought  and  mood. 
Strawberries  in  June  quickly  pass,  and  housewives 
preserve  them  until  winter.  Thus  books  are 
c 


18        The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

preserved  souls.  Through  his  works  Schopen- 
hauer has  pickled  himself  in  salt  brine,  just  as 
"The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table"  is 
Holmes  preserved  in  the  sweetness  of  sugar. 
The  photographer  makes  a  copy  of  Juliet ;  but 
pictures  will  never  lead  Romeo  to  resign  the 
sweet  girl.  Not  until  books  on  the  bringing  up 
of  children  make  mothers  unnecessary,  then  the 
press  will  begin  to  interfere  with  the  moral 
teachers.  It  is  indeed  given  to  the  printed  page 
to  teach  the  truth  regarding  axioms  or  the  na- 
ture of  solids  and  fluids,  but  even  then  the 
laboratory  strengthens  the  book.  But,  so  far  as 
moral  truth  is  concerned,  the  truth  is  never  the 
full  truth  until  it  is  organized  into  personality, 
and  flashes  in  the  eye,  or  thrills  in  the  voice,  or 
glows  in  the  reason,  or  guides  through  sound 

judgment.     And  so  long  as  life  is  full  of  strife 

and  conflict,  so  long  as  men  are  the  children  of 
misfortune,  adversity,  and  defeat ;  so  long  as 
troubles  roll  over  the  earth  like  sheeted  storms ; 
so  long  as  dark  minds  need  light  and  inspiration, 
and  the  pilgrim  band,  floundering  through  the 
wilderness,  needs  a  leader,  with  a  pillar  of  cloud 
by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  that  long  will 
the  pulpit  remain  the  guide,  the  hope,  the  friend 
and  support  of  the  people. 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      19 

The  genius  of  preaching  is  truth  in  personality. 
Mighty  is  the  written  word  of  God,  but  the  word 
never  conquered  until  it  was  "made  flesh." 
Truth  in  the  book  is  crippled.  Truth  in  the 
intellectual  system  is  a  skeleton.  Truth  in  per- 
sonality is  life  and  power.  Always  the  printed 
philosophy  is  less  than  the  speaking  philosopher. 
Wallace  and  Bruce  had  their  power  over  the 
clansmen,  not  by  written  orders,  but  by  riding  at 
the  head  of  the  host.  By  the  torch  of  burning 
speech  Peter  and  Bernard  kindled  the  ardor  of 
crusaders.  When  to  Luther's  thought  was  added 
Luther's  personality,  Germany  was  freed.  Savon- 
arola's arguments  were  brought  together  in  a 
solid  chain  of  logic,  but  it  has  been  said  that 
his  flaming  heart  made  the  chain  of  logic  to  be 
chain  lightning.  The  printed  truth  cuts  with  a 
sharp  edge,  the  spoken  truth  burns  as  well  as 
cuts.  Men  have  indeed  been  redeemed  by  the 
truth  in  black  ink  on  white  paper,  but  the  truth 
quadruples  its  force  when  it  is  bound  up  in 
nerves,  muscles,  and  sinews.  The  soul  may  be 
taught  by  travel,  books,  friends,  occupation.  Yet 
these  truths  stand  in  the  outer  court  of  the  soul. 
It  is  not  given  to  them  to  enter  into  the  secret 
holy  of  holies,  where  the  hidden  life  doth  dwell. 
Preaching  is  plying  men  with  the  eternal  prino 


20        The  New  Problems  of  tbe  Pulpit  and 

pies  of  duty  and  destiny,  so  as  to  give  warmth 
to  the  frigid,  wings  to  the  dull  and  low-flying, 
clarity  to  reason,  accuracy  to  moral  judgment, 
force  to  aspiration,  and  freedom  to  faith.  Truth 
is  the  arrow,  but  speech  is  the  bow  that  sends 
it  home. 

The  nature  and  functions  of  preaching  grow 
out  of  the  divine  method  of  education  and 
growth  for  men.  God  governs  rocks  by  gravity, 
bees  by  instinct,  trees  by  those  grooves  called 
natural  laws.  Man  governs  his  locomotive  by 
two  rails  and  the  flanges  upon  the  side  of  the 
wheel.  But  man,  made  in  God's  image,  is  the 
child  of  liberty,  and  God  governs  him  through 
moral  teachers,  into  whose  minds  great  truths 
have  been  dropped  from  heaven,  and  these  teach- 
ers are  sent  on  before  the  advancing  multitude, 
to  lead  them  away  from  the  slough,  and  the  wil- 
derness, and  open  up  some  spring  in  the  desert. 
It  is  possible  to  enrich  dead  things  from  the 
outside.  Soft  wood  may  be  veneered  with 
mahogany,  nickel  may  be  coated  with  silver,  and 
silver  plated  with  gold,  but  living  things  must 
be  developed  from  the  inside.  Would  the  hus- 
bandman have  a  rich  flush  upon  the  rose  ?  Let 
him  feed  the  roots.  Would  the  mother  have  the 
bloom  of  beauty  upon  the  cheek  of  the  child  ? 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      21 

Let  her  feed  the  babe  with  good  food,  and  the 
pure  blood  on  the  inside  will  lend  the  rosy  tint 
to  the  cheek  on  the  outside.  Men  cannot  be 
made  wise  or  strong  or  moral  by  exterior  laws 
or  agencies.  There  are  two  ways  to  help  a 
thriftless  man.  One  is  to  build  him  a  house  and 
place  him  therein.  The  other  is  to  inspire  in 
him  the  sense  of  industry,  economy,  and  ambi- 
tion, and  then  he  will  build  his  own  house.  All 
tools,  books,  pictures,  laws,  on  the  outside,  begin 
with  ideas  on  the  inside.  Inspire  the  reason, 
and  man  will  fill  the  library  with  books.  Wake 
up  the  taste  and  imagination  in  young  men, 
and  they  will  fill  the  galleries  with  pictures. 
Stir  the  springs  of  justice,  and  men  will  go 
forth  to  cleanse  iniquities  and  right  wrongs. 
Quicken  the  inventive  faculty,  and  men  will 
create  tools,  and  machines.  It  is  as  useless  to 
seek  to  make  men  good  or  wise  by  law  as  to 
adorn  leafless  trees  by  tying  wax  flowers  to  bare 
branches.  The  time  was  when  men  talked  about 
being  clothed  with  righteousness  and  character, 
as  if  God  was  a  wholesale  dry  goods  merchant, 
and  kept  great  bales  of  integrity  and  cut  off  a 
new  character  suit  for  each  poor  sinner.  But 
righteousness  and  character  are  not  made  for 
man  on  the  outside.  Love,  joy,  justice  represent 


22        The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

something  done  with  man  on  the  inside.  Our 
politicians  talk  about  over-production.  In  reality 
our  industrial  troubles  are  based  upon  under- 
hunger.  If  we  could  open  up  a  hundred  mouths 
in  each  living  man  the  cry  of  over-production 
would  cease.  The  slave  had  only  three  mouths. 
He  wanted  a  loaf,  a  cotton  garment,  a  little  to- 
bacco. Therefore  he  bought  little,  manufacturing 
languished,  and  the  slave  states  became  poor. 

But  as  the  free  laborer  became  educated,  he 
wanted  variety  in  foods,  variety  in  clothes,  wanted 
books,  pictures,  comforts,  conveniences,  and  he 
bought  widely,  and  all  the  Northern  factories 
were  busy  day  and  night  to  supply  his  hundred- 
fold hunger.  Could  we  by  sudden  fiat  of  educa- 
tion open  up  a  score  of  new  wants  and  hungers 
through  the  quickening  of  the  world  within,  the 
new  spiritual  awakening  would  appear  in  a  thou- 
sand forms  of  industry  and  occupation.  The 
great  spiritual  principles  of  Jesus  Christ  are  the 
most  powerful  stimulants  to  material  civilization 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  It  is  said  that 
Shakespeare's  poems  bring  thousands  of  visitors 
to  Stratford  every  year.  His  poems  indirectly 
have  created  more  wealth  for  the  people  of  Strat- 
ford than  any  of  the  factories  or  looms  in  that 
thriving  city.  It  is  still  an  open  question  whether 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      23 

Wycliffe  with  his  translation  of  the  Scriptures  did 
not  do  more  for  the  commerce  of  England  than 
Watt  when  he  invented  the  tools  that  Wycliffe 
had  first  made  necessary.  Lord  Shaftesbury  once 
said  that  Charles  Spurgeon,  without  discussing 
problems  of  government,  had  done  more  for  social 
reform  and  progress  than  any  statesman  of  his 
era. 

One  of  the  difficulties  of  modern  preaching  is 
the  fact  that  all  our  great  authors,  novelists 
and  poets  have  become  preachers  and  prophets. 
If  we  call  the  roll  of  our  teachers  we  shall  men- 
tion Carlyle,  Ruskin,  Lowell,  Browning,  and  Emer- 
son. Of  these  we  may  say  what  Wordsworth 
said  of  himself,  "  God  hath  laid  his  hand  upon 
me,  and  taken  vows  for  me."  Not  one  of  these 
authors  entered  the  Christian  pulpit,  yet  all  con- 
secrated their  lives  to  the  task  of  preaching. 
Here  is  Carlyle,  who  seems  like  one  of  the  old 
Hebrew  prophets  returned  to  earth  with  scourge 
in  hand.  He  hates  hypocrisy,  lies,  and  sham  with 
exceedingly  bitter  hatred.  Over  against  the 
"  Nay,  nay,"  of  the  sceptics  he  sets  the  eternal 
"  Yea  "  of  the  great  God.  Beholding  the  Epicu- 
rean, who  loves  selfishness,  and  makes  soft  his 
silken  nest,  who  eats  stalled  ox  and  drinks  spiced 
wine,  Carlyle  sets  the  warning  to  Belshazzar  in 


24        The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

his  feast :  "  Thou  art  weighed  and  found  wanting. 
Behold  the  axe  is  laid  to  the  root  of  the  tree,  and 
whatsoever  tree  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is 
hewed  down  and  cast  into  the  fire."  Emerson 
has  been  called  a  Greek  head  screwed  on  Yankee 
shoulders.  He  begins  his  message  by  saying : 
"  Know,  O  men,  that  God  exists.  Remember 
that  God  never  breaks  his  word  to  His  children. 
It  is  easier  to  escape  from  the  all-embracing 
atmosphere  than  from  the  unseen  One  in  whose 
presence  we  dwell."  Without  morality  he  de- 
clares "  laughter  holds  bitterness,  honey  burns  the 
mouth,  and  riches  bring  sadness."  And  here  is 
Lowell,  who  is  often  called  the  poet  of  Christian 
service  and  sympathy.  In  a  recent  edition  of  his 
works  published  in  London,  the  editor  traces 
much  of  social  reform  to  the  influence  of  James 
Russell  Lowell,  but  Lowell's  greatest  poems,  like 
"  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal,"  are  written  from  the 
view  point  of  the  teacher  of  Christ's  Gospel. 
Ruskin,  also,  ends  his  volume  by  saying,  "  What- 
soever Christ  saith  unto  you,  do  it ;  this  is  the 
sum  of  all  my  writing."  In  emphasizing  the 
importance  of  character,  he  writes  :  "  Would  you 
paint  a  great  picture,  be  a  good  man.  Would 
you  carve  a  perfect  statue,  be  a  pure  man. 
Would  you  enact  a  wise  law,  be  a  just  man." 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      25 

And  what  shall  we  say  more  of  the  Brownings 
and  of  Tennyson  and  of  the  great  novelists,  save 
that  they,  too,  have  become  prophets  and  preach- 
ers ?  Without  entering  the  ministry,  these  men 
have  dedicated  their  gifts  to  an  interpretation  of 
the  evangel  of  Christ.  Each  represents  a  high 
order  of  genius.  Each  has  received  from  God 
a  harp  with  many  strings.  And  having  read  the 
gospel  according  to  Ruskin,  Carlyle,  or  Browning, 
men  come  to  the  church  with  a  new  ideal  for  the 
sermon  and  impose  the  severest  literary  tests 
upon  the  preacher.  Unconsciously  these  great 
authors  have  made  difficult  the  work  of  modern 
preaching  and  laid  heavy  burdens  upon  the  public 
teacher. 

We  must  also  confess  that  the  very  success  of 
the  preaching  of  yesterday  increases  the  difficulty 
of  the  task  that  belongs  to  to-day.  In  the  vision 
of  the  new  Jerusalem,  John  saw  the  city  of  God  as 
having  no  temple  therein.  To  that  ideal  world 
came  all  music  and  wisdom.  All  cool  streams 
and  all  fruitful  trees  were  there.  There,  too, 
were  the  sons  of  genius  and  eloquence  and  service 
and  martyrdom.  Yet  in  this  new  city  of  God 
there  was  no  temple  for  instruction.  And  why  no 
church  there?  Because  Christianity  has  been 
successful,  and  has  now  become  automatic  in 


26        The  New  Problems  of  tbe  Pulpit  and 

thought  and  life.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  has 
been  turned  into  a  "living  gospel."  Each  heart 
is  a  temple  of  worship.  Because  Christ's  mission 
has  been  absolutely  successful,  the  necessity  of  the 
temple  has  been  done  away  with.  And  on  earth 
also  the  very  victories  of  Christianity  involve  new 
difficulties.  Indeed,  Christianity  is  already  largely 
automatic  in  society.  Men  outside  of  churches 
unconsciously  obey  the  great  principles  of  right 
and  wrong.  Some  of  the  best  men  in  every  com- 
munity are  outside  of  the  churches.  Upon  the 
bare  spot  of  ground  the  sun  lifts  up  a  tree  or 
shade  and  fruits.  But  once  the  tree  is  strong  in 
bough  and  fruit,  then  it  is  a  barrier  against  the 
sun,  and  forbids  its  warm  beams  to  fall  upon  the 
naked  ground.  There  is  a  sense,  therefore,  in 
which  the  Christianity  of  yesterday  becomes  an 
obstacle  for  to-day.  In  the  realm  of  medicine,  not 
one  person  is  ill  to-day,  where  ten  suffered  a  cen- 
tury ago.  Should  the  victory  of  physicians  or 
surgeons  continue  another  generation,  these  phy- 
sicians will  starve  to  death.  Their  very  successes 
are  imperilling  their  livelihood.  To  the  degree, 
also,  to  which  the  jurist  succeeds  in  teaching 
business  men  the  laws  of  commerce  and  the  pen- 
alties of  wrong-doing,  to  that  degree  does  he 
destroy  his  own  business.  The  preacher,  also,  is 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      27 

a  man  who  is  engaged  in  making  himself  unneces- 
sary. And  Christianity  has  been  organized  into 
the  school  and  home  and  street.  Many  are  so 
busy  living  Christianity  on  the  practical  side  that 
they  begrudge  any  time  for  studying  it  in  theory. 
Through  books  and  sermons  they  obtain  for  them- 
selves nutrition  and  guidance,  yet  their  withdrawal 
from  the  church  involves  grievous  loss.  When  a 
single  match  is  lighted,  because  it  is  alone,  it  goes 
out.  Pile  many  sticks  together,  and  the  heat  of 
the  one  log  lends  itself  to  others,  until  the  whole 
mass  is  aglow  and  blazing.  And  to  the  end  of 
time  it  will  be  important  for  the  multitudes  to 
come  together,  and  through  song  and  prayer  and 
elevated  thoughts,  the  sacred  fires  that  glow  in  one 
nature  may  be  communicated  from  heart  to  heart, 
until  the  whole  community  feels  the  divine  im- 
pulse toward  moral  earnestness.  President  Hop- 
kins once  told  the  students  of  Williams  College 
that  when  a  man  ceases  to  bend  his  knees  in 
prayer,  he  soon  ceases  to  bow  his  mind  and  heart. 
In  reviewing  his  long  career,  Robert  Collyer  also 
affirmed  that  he  had  noticed  that  "  those  men  who 
find  their  temple  in  the  fields,  and  ask  nature  to  be 
their  priest,  have  ended  by  losing  all  sense  of  wor- 
ship until  they  worship  less  truly  than  do  the  very 
beasts  of  the  field."  Nevertheless,  we  must  con- 


28        The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

fess  that  society  is  being  slowly  permeated  by  the 
principle  of  Christian  living,  and  that  noble  men 
live  the  higher  spiritual  life  without  the  assistance 
of  the  church.  God's  sun  is  so  powerful  that  when 
it  has  ripened  the  golden  sheaf  within  the  field, 
it  lends  loveliness  to  the  violet  and  the  sweet  brier 
that  springs  up  without  the  lane. 

In  former  ages  and  generations  doubtless  men 
have  needed  to  come  in  from  the  field  and  factory, 
store  and  street,  and,  coming  together  in  one  spot, 
have  sought  to  cleanse  the  grime  from  their  gar- 
ments, to  sharpen  the  spiritual  faculties,  to  cast 
out  selfishness,  to  test  the  deeds  of  life  by  Christ's 
principles,  just  as  an  artist,  when  his  eye  is  jaded, 
tests  the  blue  tint  by  the  sapphire  or  the  red  by 
the  ruby.  But  in  these  days  many  believe  that 
church-going  is  no  longer  obligatory ;  that  ser- 
mons have  lost  their  juice  and  freshness,  and,  hav- 
ing gone  to  church  once  in  a  month,  they  feel 
that  they  have  placed  the  Almighty  under  ever- 
\/  lasting  obligations.  Gone  now  a  certain  sanctity 
of  the  Sabbath.  Gone  a  certain  reverence  for  the 
church,  a  certain  refinement  of  conscience,  a  cer- 
tain clarity  and  purity  of  moral  judgment.  Gone 
also  the  old  era  when  the  beggar  was  unknown  in 
the  little  Christian  community,  when  children  and 
youth  grew  up  without  ever  having  beheld  a 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      29 

drunkard,  a  thief,  or  a  murderer,  and  when  the 
door  of.  the  house  or  the  granary  had  no  lock  or 
bar.    Now  one-half  of  the  community  never  crosses  t 
the  threshold  of  a  church,  either  Catholic  or  Prot-^ 
estant.     Multitudes,  also,  decline  the  moral  obliga- 
tions, and  there  has  come  a  time  when  the  poor- 
house   overflows,  when   the   jails   are   full,    when 
judges    must    work   day  and    night   to   overtake 
the  criminals. 

To-day  thoughtful  men  believe  that  our  republic 
needs  tools  and  culture  less  than  it  needs  a  revival 
of  the  moral  imperative.  Our  nation  needs  two 
Sundays  a  week,  for  a  time,  for  toning  up  the 
jaded  moral  sense.  A  great  multitude  of  our 
people  have  laid  the  Ten  Commandments  on 
the  table  by  a  two-thirds  majority.  Indeed,  they 
seem  to  have  written  and  revised  the  old  com- 
mandments so  that  they  now  read  in  accordance 
with  Ruskin's  sarcastic  version  :  Thou  shalt  have 
gods  of  self  and  ease  and  pleasure  before  me. 
Thou  shalt  worship  thine  own  imaginations  as 
to  houses  and  goods  and  business,  and  bow 
down  and  serve  them.  Thou  shalt  remember  the  ^ 
Sabbath  day,  to  see  to  it  that  all  its  hours  are 
given  to  sloth  and  lounging  and  stuffing  the 
body  with  rich  foods,  leaving  the  children  of 
sorrow  and  ignorance  to  perish  in  their  sodden 


30        Tbe  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

misfortune.  Thou  shalt  kill  and  slay  men  by 
doing  as  little  as  possible  thyself,  and  squeezing 
as  much  as  possible  out  of  others.  Thou  shalt 
look  upon  loveliness  in  womanhood  to  soil  it 
with  impurity.  Thou  shalt  steal  daily  the  em- 
ployer from  the  servant,  and  the  servant  from 
his  employer,  and  the  devil  take  the  hindmost. 
Thou  shalt  get  thy  livelihood  by  weaving  a 
great  web  of  falsehoods  and  sheathing  thyself 
in  lies.  Thou  shalt  covet  thy  neighbor's  house 
to  possess  it  for  thyself;  thou  shalt  covet  his 
office  and  his  farm,  his  goods  and  his  fame,  and 
everything  that  is  his.  And  to  crown  all  these 
laws,  the  devil  has  added  a  new  commandment 
—  Thou  shalt  hate  thy  brother  as  thou  dost 
hate  thyself.  Into  this  piteous  lot  have  multi- 
tudes come.  And  there  is  restlessness  in  the 
heart,  unhappiness  in  the  home,  hate  in  the 
task,  anarchy  in  the  street,  whose  end  is  chaos, 
destruction,  and  death. 

Plato  has  a  pre-Christian  statement  as  to  the 
function  of  preaching  and  its  relation  to  social 
happiness  and  progress.  "The  things  that  de- 
stroy us  are  injustice,  insolence,  and  foolish 
thoughts ;  and  the  things  that  save  us  are  jus- 
tice, self-command,  and  true  thought,  which 
things  dwell  in  the  living  powers  of  God. 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      31 

Wherefore  our  battle  is  immortal.  The  angels 
and  God  fight  with  us  as  teachers,  and  we  are 
their  possessions." 

In  his  Yale  address  ex-President  White 
lamented  that  young  men  were  turning  from 
the  learned  professions  to  enter  trade  and  com- 
merce. Materialism,  he  thought,  was  an  evil 
spirit  that  had  given  its  cup  of  sorcery  to  youth, 
and  beguiled  them  from  the  paths  of  noble 
scholarship  and  the  intellectual  life.  Gone  the 
poets  Longfellow,  Lowell,  Bryant,  Whittier.  Gone 
the  historians  Bancroft,  Motley,  Prescott.  Gone 
the  great  orators  and  statesmen.  Gone  also  the 
era  when  young  men,  like  Channing  and  Starr 
King,  Swing  and  Beecher  and  Brooks,  entered 
the  ministry.  And,  remembering  that  in  New 
England  the  clergymen  have  founded  the  acade- 
mies and  colleges,  and  that  in  scores  of  families 
like  the  Emersons  there  had  been  seven  genera- 
tions of  clergymen  who  had  wrought  in  the 
pulpit,  the  lecture  hall,  or  taken  up  the  pen  of 
author  or  editor,  the  great  educator  predicted 
disaster  would  befall  our  eager  American  society. 
But  not  the  emoluments  of  commerce  alone 
explain  the  drift  of  young  men  away  from  the 
ministry.  The  ministry  is  not  an  easy  life.  No 
profession  makes  demands  so  numerous  or  so 


32        The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

stern  upon  nerve  and  brain,  upon  mind  and  heart. 
In  former  times,  when  books  were  scarce,  reli- 
gious newspapers  unknown,  and  knowledge  was 
not  universal,  preaching  was  not  a  difficult  task, 
and  it  was  easily  possible  for  a  clergyman  to 
preach  a  sermon  three  hours  long  in  the  morn- 
ing and  repeat  it  at  night  without  the  congrega- 
tion recognizing  it.  Now  all  the  hearers  have 
books  and  libraries,  and  the  pew  of  to-day  is 
wiser  than  the  pulpit  of  yesterday.  The  time 
has  come  when  the  preacher  must  be  a  uni- 
versal scholar.  He  must  make  himself  an 
expert  in  social  reform ;  master  the  facts  as  to 
illiteracy,  vice,  and  crime;  study  the  tenement- 
house  question ;  all  social  movements  in  connec- 
tion with  settlements  and  methods  of  Christian 
work.  He  must  carry  his  studies  into  physi- 
ology and  hygiene  to  note  how  low  and  abnormal 
physical  conditions  affect  the  conscience  and  the 
spiritual  state. 

Giving  up  the  theological  reading  with  which 
the  clergymen  of  a  former  generation  have  made 
the  people  acquainted,  he  must  study  history, 
politics,  the  rise  of  law,  and  free  institutions, 
the  movements  of  art,  the  history  of  philosophy, 
and,  above  all  else,  no  facts  in  connection  with 
science  must  be  permitted  to  escape  his  notice. 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      33 

For  his  illustrations  he  must  draw  from  the 
sciences  of  stars  and  stones  and  animals  and 
plants.  To  keep  step  with  his  work  he  must 
read  each  month  several  reviews  that  deal  with  the 
general  public,  with  reviews  upon  finance,  reform, 
labor,  and  education,  not  forgetting  the  foreign 
quarterlies  and  magazines.  In  addition  to  all  this, 
there  will  be  at  least  a  hundred  volumes  each 
year  that  he  must  go  through  thoroughly,  if 
possible,  or  hurriedly,  if  crowded.  There  are 
also  public  duties  and  demands.  To-day  he 
enters  a  home  in  which  some  woman,  with  little 
children  clinging  to  her  dress  and  crying  bit- 
terly, stands  beside  a  young  father,  now  dying. 
He  returns  home  to  find  some  youth,  the  child 
of  poverty  and  orphanage,  but  of  genius  also, 
who  needs  help  and  assistance.  When  evening 
falls,  there  comes  the  intellectual  stress  and 
task,  with  a  thousand  duties  for  which  prepara- 
tion must  be  made. 

Immeasurable  the  demands  upon  nerve  and 
brain.  Now  and  then  one  arises  who  is  called 
to  the  ministry  by  his  distant  ancestors,  whose 
father  loved  moral  themes,  and  had  vision  and 
an  outlook  upon  the  realm  invisible,  whose 
mother  had  enthusiasm,  imagination,  and  moral 
sentiment, — gateways,  these,  through  which  God's 


34         The  New  Problems  of  the  Pulpit  and 

angels  come  trooping,  —  and  father  and  mother, 
through  heredity,  call  the  child  to  the  ministry. 
For  such  a  one,  teaching  is  automatic  and 
preaching  is  instinctive,  and  the  work  itself  is 
medicinal  and  recuperative.  But  even  upon 
these  men,  like  Robertson  and  Channing  and 
Bushnell,  the  mere  strain  of  delivery  is  such 
as  to  send  them  home  from  the  pulpit  in  the 
state  of  nervous  collapse  from  which  they  do 
not  recover  until  Tuesday  or  Wednesday.  With 
many  the  recoil  dismounts  the  cannon.  In 
these  days  no  man  would  be  equal  to  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  ministry  were  it  not  for  the  hap- 
piest of  the  professions  bringing  its  own  rewards, 
carrying  medicine  to  cure  its  exhaustions. 

No  other  occupation  or  profession  offers  such 
liberty  and  personal  freedom.  The  politician  is 
a  thread  caught  in  the  texture  of  his  party,  and 
has  little  freedom.  The  merchant  must  buy  and 
sell  what  the  people  want,  and  must  serve  them. 
The  lawyer  must  move  in  the  groove  digged  by 
the  mistake  or  sin  of  his  client,  while  the  clergy- 
man is  freely  permitted  to  teach  the  great  eter- 
nal principles  of  God,  and  he  steers  by  the  stars. 
Great  is  the  power  of  the  press.  But  the  press 
writer  has  no  personal  contact  with  the  reader; 
must  report  things  evil  often  as  well  as  good. 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      35 

Great  is  the  power  of  the  law.  But  law  is  liti- 
gious, and  the  jurist  must  struggle  oftentimes  for 
weeks  or  months  to  settle  some  quarrel  or  cor- 
rect some  injustice,  dealing,  as  Webster  said, 
with  negatives  oftentimes.  Great  is  the  power 
of  the  physician.  But,  unfortunately,  in  influ- 
encing his  patient,  his  personality  must  first  of 
all  work  upon  an  abnormal  condition,  and  when 
the  patient  is  restored  to  health  and  ready  to 
receive  the  physician's  personality,  his  task  is 
done.  But  this  advantage  adheres  in  the  min- 
istry. It  emphasizes  the  great  positive  morali- 
ties, it  handles  the  most  powerful  stimulants  the 
world  has  ever  known  —  eternal  truths.  It  plies 
men  with  divine  inspirations.  It  deals  with  the 
greatest  themes  life  holds  —  God,  Christ,  con- 
science, reason,  sin,  salvation,  culture,  character, 
duty,  immortal  destiny.  When  all  other  arts 
have  been  secured,  it  teaches  the  art  of  right 
living.  When  all  other  sciences  have  been 
mastered,  it  teaches  the  science  of  conduct  at 
the  home,  the  market,  and  the  forum.  It  puts 
its  stamp,  not  into  wood  that  will  rot,  not  into 
iron  that  will  rust,  not  into  colors  that  will  fade, 
but  into  the  minds  and  hearts  that  are  immortal. 
Multiply  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  the 
other  occupations  one  hundred  fold,  and  they 


36        The  New  Problems  of  tbe  Pulpit  and 

need  them  all  to  compensate  for  the  happiness 
and  opportunity  of  the  Christian  ministry,  seek- 
ing to  make  the  church  a  college  for  the  igno- 
rant, a  hospital  for  hurt  hearts,  an  armory  from 
which  men  may  receive  weapons,  that  opens  up 
springs  in  life's  desert,  plants  a  palm  in  life's 
burning  sands. 

Well  did  John  Ruskin  say  that  the  issues  of 
life  and  death  for  modern  society  are  in  the 
pulpit :  "  Precious  indeed  those  thirty  minutes 
by  which  the  teacher  tries  to  get  at  the  sepa- 
rate hearts  of  a  thousand  men,  to  convince 
them  of  all  their  weaknesses,  to  shame  them  for 
all  their  sin,  to  warn  them  of  all  their  dangers, 
to  try  by  this  way  and  that  to  stir  the  hard  fast- 
enings of  the  doors  where  the  Master  Himself 
has  stood  and  knocked,  yet  none  opened,  and  to 
call  at  the  openings  of  those  dark  streets  where 
Wisdom  herself  hath  stretched  forth  her  hands 
and  no  man  regarded.  Thirty  minutes  to  raise 
the  dead  in."  And  he  who  hath  known  the  joy 
of  encouraging  some  noble  youth  who  is  dis- 
couraged, the  rapture  that  comes  when  at  least 
one  who  hath  become  long  snared  and  held  in 
the  cruel  trap  hath  been  freed,  the  joy  of  feel- 
ing that  blind  eyes  have  come  to  see  things 
unseen  and  deaf  ears  to  hear  notes  that  once 


Its  Place  in  American  Life  and  Thought      37 

were  unheard,  or  hath  swung  wide  some  dun- 
geon door  to  lead  forth  some  prisoner  of  con- 
science, will  know  that  there  is  no  profession 
that  conceals  such  hidden  springs,  receives  such 
hidden  messages,  is  fed  with  such  buoyancy  and 
happiness  as  the  ministry  —  the  Christian  teacher 
who  brings  divine  truth  to  men  for  God's  sake 
and  for  man's  sake. 


II 


Social  Progress  antr  tfje  Influence  of  Resits 
(florist  in 


"  In  discussing  the  proposition  suggested  by  this  text,  that 
Christianity  is  a  civilization,  it  will  be  necessary  to  think  of 
civilization  in  two  lights  —  the  one  as  the  condition  of  the 
individual,  the  other  as  a  power  to  influence  others  standing 
apart  from  its  condition.  What  mankind  needs  is  not  simply 
a  picture  of  an  elevated  human  life,  but  also  an  agency  that 
will  rapidly  cast  men  into  the  likeness  of  this  ideal  picture. 
Individuals  have  always  been  visible  here  and  there  who 
have,  in  their  minds  and  hearts,  reflected  the  features  of 
almost  the  ideal  manhood,  but  their  virtues  have  been  unable 
to  multiply  themselves  infinitely  in  the  outer  world  ;  and  liv- 
ing, they  never  perceived  virtue  to  have  gone  out  from  their 
garments  at  a  world's  touch ;  and  dying,  they  have  taken 
their  moral  excellence  into  their  tombs,  as  Beatrice  took 
away  her  beauty  with  her,  and  as  the  dying  songstress  re- 
cently took  with  her,  forever,  her  warm  melody.  History  is 
dotted  over  with  names  of  such  piety  as  marked  Aurelius,  and 
Cato,  and  Xenophon ;  but  as  between  the  stars  of  heaven, 
there  are  awful  solitudes  across  which  light  itself  flies  invisi- 
ble, and  which  no  sound  of  even  thunder  or  softest  music  has 
ever  blessed,  so  between  these  isolated  characters  of  the  past, 
there  have  lived  and  died  countless  millions  of  the  human 
family,  without  excellence  and  without  hope  —  awful  solitudes 
of  the  soul.  In  seeking,  therefore,  for  a  desirable  civilization 
it  is  necessary  for  us  to  find  a  culture  that  will  overflow." 
SWING,  "  Christianity  as  a  Civilization." 


40 


II 


SOCIAL   PROGRESS   AND    THE   INFLUENCE   OF  JESUS 
CHRIST  IN  CIVILIZATION 

In  all  ages  God  maintains  leaders  and  heroes  for  the 
guidance  of  society.  Each  new  era  ushered  in  by  a  great 
man  who  has  capitalized  the  new  form  of  progress.  Christ 
as  the  world's  Leader  and  Master  as  well  as  Saviour  and 
Lord.  His  waxing  influence  over  the  greatest  intellects. 
The  poets  and  philosophers,  and  the  common  people  alike 
unite  in  lifting  Him  to  the  World's  throne.  The  influence 
of  Christ  upon  the  Old  World  vices.  The  influence  of  Christ 
upon  individual  life  and  culture.  The  influence  of  Christ 
upon  schools  and  colleges,  through  the  emphasis  of  child- 
hood. The  influence  of  Christ  upon  the  fine  arts.  The 
painters,  architects,  and  sculptors  have  devoted  their  gifts 
to  the  interpretation  of  Christ.  The  absence  of  great  men 
among  the  non-Christian  races.  The  influence  of  Christ  in 
developing  the  greatness  latent  in  individuals.  Christianity 
is  the  sole  religion  of  to-day  that  has  the  propagating  spirit. 
Jesus  Christ  and  man's  upward  progress. 

Hn*HE  soul,  like  the  body,  thrives  through  nourish- 

-*-     ment.     Mind  and  heart  hunger  for  food,  and 

find  it  in  the  best  qualities  of  the  best  men  who  have 

4* 


42  Social  Progress  and  the  Influence 

gone  before.  History  stores  up  the  bravest  deeds 
and  noblest  thoughts  of  the  heroes  of  yesterday 
as  soul  food  for  the  youth  of  to-day.  The  Greek 
general  bade  parents  bring  their  children  up — not 
upon  milk,  but  upon  the  memories  of  soldierly 
ancestors.  Always  it  has  been  the  necessity  of 
life  that  children  and  youth  should  look  upward 
toward  illustrious  masters  and  models.  Each  Pitt 
and  Burke  stimulates  himself  by  tales  of  eloquence 
and  oratory.  Each  young  Correggio  lingers  long 
before  his  master's  easel.  Each  Keats  or  Shelley 
turns  eager  feet  toward  the  great  bard's  home. 
History  is  no  mausoleum  where  dead  men  lie  bur- 
ied; it  is  a  granary  storing  up  for  future  genera- 
tions the  choicest  spirits  of  past  ages.  That  is 
the  greatest  nation  that  has  the  most  heroes 
and  illustrious  deeds  to  celebrate. 

When  a  nation  has  no  heroes  to  nourish  great- 
ness in  its  youth,  God  raises  up  some  poet  to  create 
them.  Thus  the  blind  bard  hung  Achilles  in  the 
sky  above  the  race  of  Grecian  savages.  Straight- 
way thousands  felt  the  drawing  of  that  great  heart ; 
just  as  the  ocean,  without  knowing  the  cause,  is 
lifted  forward,  following  the  planets.  Soon  the 
ideal  Achilles  repeated  himself  in  the  real  orators 
and  artists,  statesmen  and  philosophers,  of  Athens. 
Plutarch  thought  the  iron  and  granite  in  the  hills 


Of  Jesus  Christ  in  Civilisation  43 

of  Sparta  repeated  themselves  in  the  Spartan  war- 
riors. We  know  that  the  single  root  brought  from 
Africa  by  the  Spanish  traveller  repeated  its  un- 
exampled size  and  color  in  all  the  vineyards  of 
Spain.  Thus  one  great  man  like  Pericles  or  Cato, 
like  John  Huss  or  William  Tell,  like  Vane  or 
Hampden,  like  Brown  or  Lincoln,  repeats  himself 
in  the  new  and  larger  manhood  of  his  nation. 
When  God  wants  to  create  a  revolution  or  secure  a 
sudden  forward  movement  in  society,  He  sets  some 
great  man  in  the  midst  of  the  people,  and,  looking 
upward,  the  generations  are  lifted  to  his  level.  The 
measure  of  civilization  for  a  nation  is  found  in  the 
number  and  quality  of  its  heroes  and  leaders. 

Social  progress  through  lifting  up  a  niaster  and 
Tnodel  has  always  been  the  divine  method.  Here 
nature  lends  us  a  thousand  interpretations.  Ours 
is  a  world  in  which  rain  and  snow,  falling  to  the 
ground,  must  be  lifted  up  and  passed  through 
bough  and  branch  before  water  reddens  in  the 
wine-purple  flood,  or  drips  in  the  golden  juices  of 
the  orange.  In  the  forests  the  carbon  and  iron 
of  the  soil  must  be  lifted  up  to  be  hardened  into 
masts  for  ships  or  timbers  for  temples.  In  the 
fields  the  wheat  stalk  lifts  up  the  phosphates  and 
condenses  them  into  the  rich,  brown  berry.  By 
ropes  and  pulleys,  Phidias  lifted  the  most  perfect 


44  Social  Progress  and  the  Influence 

statue  of  his  time,  the  "  Pallas  Athene,"  to  its  place 
upon  the  Acropolis,  where  its  crown  of  gold  and 
ivory,  reflecting  the  sun's  rays,  first  welcomed  the 
Athenian  mariner  home  again.  Lifted  from  the 
ground,  wood  and  iron  become  cottage  or  palace. 
Lifted  from  the  quarries,  stone  and  marble  become 
temples  and  cathedrals.  Lifted  up  by  the  author, 
meaningless  words  become  poems  and  dramas. 
Standing  upon  the  horizon,  the  sun  lifts  from  the 
sea  its  whitest  mists,  lifts  from  the  land  golden 
harvest, lifts  from  space  heavy  planets. 

Naturally,  therefore,  we  expect  social  progress 
to  be  achieved  through  the  lifting  up  of  good  men 
and  strong.  In  accordance  with  this  method  the 
martyred  Cranmer  was  made  heroic,  and,  thrusting 
his  arm  into  the  fire,  he  lifted  up  an  example  that 
made  the  multitudes  strong  for  achieving  religious 
liberty.  This  multitude  of  brave  women,  going 
into  the  Crimea  with  the  Red  Cross  movement  and 
mercy :  these  nurses  kindling  their  fires  upon  the 
edge  of  battle-fields  ;  these  who  make  their  homes 
among  the  poor  of  tenement-house  districts,  re- 
mind us  that  long  ago  God  caused  Mary  Ware, 
serving  in  the  fever-stricken  homes  of  Durham, 
and  Florence  Nightingale,  nursing  the  English 
soldiers  in  the  hospitals  of  the  East,  to  be  lifted 
up  in  the  presence  of  the  world's  women.  And, 


Of  Jesus  Christ  in  Civilisation  45 

having  by  this  method  achieved  great  results  for 
liberty  and  culture,  and  human  happiness,  God 
caused  to  be  lifted  up  before  mind  and  heart  the 
soul's  Saviour  and  Masterv^And  it  need  not  sur- 
prise us  that  straightway  everything  deepest  in 
man's  faculties  and  finest  in  his  feelings  responded 
to  the  inspiring  influences  and  the  stimulating 
example!^.When  the  sun  stands  upon  the  horizon 
all  the  birds  waken,  and  rise  to  sweet  song  and 
lofty  flight :  all  the  seeds  bestir  themselves,  and 
push  upward  toward  the  light ;  all  the  buds  unroll 
their  crimson  secrets ;  then  the  very  sands  blos- 
som ;  and  all  rifts  in  the  mountains  respond  with 
blooms  beautiful  and  brilliant.  Passing  backward 
o'er  the  pathway  of  the  ages,  Christ's  mighty, 
majestic  heart,  glowing  and  all  glorious,  stands 
forth,  sowing  the  world  with  light  and  joy,  even  as 
o'er  the  planets  the  sun  scatters  warmth  and 
atmosphere. 

The  waxing  fame  of  Christ  is  the  most  striking 
fact  of  our  era.  His  star  is  causing  all  others  to 
pale.  Indeed  the  time  seems  rapidly  approaching 
when  society  will  have  but  one  Hero  and  King,  at 
whose  feet  humanity  will  empty  all  its  songs  and 
flowers,  its  prayers  and  tears.  In  the  triumphal 
procession  of  the  Roman  conqueror,  kings  and 
princes  walked  as  captives  in  the  emperor's  train. 


46  Social  Progress  and  the  Influence 

Thus  all  the  greatest  men  of  the  past  generation 
seem  to  have  joined  Christ's  triumphal  procession. 
Let  us  call  the  roll  of  the  great.  Among  Carlyle's 
last  words  were  these  :  "  The  tidings  of  the  m'ost 
important  event  ever  transacted  in  this  world  is 
the  life  and  death  of  the  Divine  Man  in  Judea,  at 
once  the  symptom  and  cause  of  innumerable 
changes  to  all  people  in  the  world."  By  acclama- 
tion, John  Ruskin  will  be  voted  the  first  place 
among  the  English  prose  writers  of  the  last  two 
centuries.  But  Ruskin  says  his  life  has  been 
dedicated. —  not  to  "the  study  of  the  beautiful 
in  face  and  flower,  in  landscape  and  gallery,  but 
to  an  interpretation  of  the  truth  and  beauty  of 
Jesus  Christ."  Another  modern  humanist  is 
Matthew  Arnold.  But,  dying,  Matthew  Arnold 
said :  "  Christ  came  to  reveal  what  righteousness 
really  is.  For  nothing  will  do  except  righteous- 
ness ;  and  no  other  conception  of  righteousness 
will  do,  except  Christ's  conception  of  it  —  His 
method  and  secret."  All  will  confess  that  James 
Martineau  was  the  first  defender  of  theism  of  the 
century  in  point  of  influence.  But  Martineau 
asserts  that  Christ  must  be  called  "the  regener- 
ator of  the  human  race.  The  world  has  changed," 
he  says,  "and  that  change  is  historically  traceable 
to  Christ."  We  all  know  that  Shakespeare,  per- 


Of  Jesus  Christ  in  Civilisation  47 

haps  the  greatest  intellect  ever  known  in  its  wide 
and  many-sided  splendor,  paid  the  lowliest  rever- 
ence to  Christ  in  passage  after  passage.  But  all 
the  great  poets  of  our  age,  Lowell  and  Longfellow 
Browning  and  Tennyson,  unite  in  saying,  — 

"  Thou  seemest  human  and  divine ; 
The  highest,  holiest  manhood  Thou ; 
Our  wills  are  ours,  we  know  not  why ; 
Our  wills  are  ours  to  make  them  Thine." 


Recently,  in  announcing  his  purpose  to  write  a 
story  of  Christ's  life,  a  distinguished  English 
author  said  that  he  had  spent  all  his  life  ac- 
cumulating material  for  this  proposed  book,  and 
that  he  had  no  higher  ambition  than  to  be  asso- 
ciated in  some  humble  way  with  the  name  and  the 
fame  of  Jesus  Christ.  By  common  consent,  in  his 
old  age,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  a  figure  sublime  indeed 
upon  our  earth.  How  pathetic  the  statesman's 
eager  desire  to  dedicate  his  closing  years  to  the 
study  of  the  teachings  of  Christ.  The  revered 
leader  and  orator  seemed  to  feel  that  his  laurel 
leaves  won  in  the  forum,  would  soon  fade,  and 
with  wistful  pathos  he  desired  to  "  weave  a  wreath 
for  Him  whose  name  is  secure  "  and  shines  like  a 
star. 

And  these  facts  are  typical  of  the  spirit  of  the 
age.  To-day  all  political  economy  is  being  re- 


48  Social  Progress  and  the  Influence 

written  in  the  length  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
says  the  greatest  of  economic  writers.  Christ  is 
increasingly  the  inspiration  of  our  charities  and 
philanthropies.  All  the  great  social  movements 
of  our  era  are  centring  about  Him.  Already  His 
teachings  are  the  watchwords  of  coming  revo- 
lutions. Reform,  duty,  art,  music,  statesmanship, 
philosophy — all  have  joined  Christ's  triumphal 
procession. 

In  nature,  as  the  summer  waxes  the  winter 
wanes,  and  the  lengthening  of  the  days  means 
the  shortening  of  the  nights.  This  fact  encour- 
ages within  us  the  belief  that  as  Christ's  prin- 
ciples advance,  man's  vices  will  decline.  In  our 
world,  causes  are  invariably  followed  by  their 
appropriate  results,  and  this  law  asks  us  to  ex- 
pect that  so  prodigious  a  cause  as  the  life  and 
teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  will  be  followed  of  ne- 
cessity by  strange  effects  upon  man's  happiness 
and  character.  In  times  of  storm,  rivers  often 
overflow  their  banks,  and,  spreading  over  the 
rich  valleys,  sweep  away  the  houses,  drown  the 
cattle,  and  when  the  waves  have  retreated,  leave 
behind  pastures  buried  in  mud,  and  fields  all 
covered  with  wrecks  and  desolation.  Thus  the 
pages  of  Juvenal  and  Pliny  and  Lucian  tell  us 
of  days  when  the  floods  of  vice  poured  their  dark 


Of  Jesus  Christ  in  Civilisation  49 

and  turbulent  streams  through  the  streets  of  all 
the  ancient  cities.  History  tells  us  that  the  clouds 
of  ashes  falling  from  Vesuvius  buried  Pompeii 
and  Herculaneum  under  thirty  feet  of  ashes. 
This  burial  seems  to  have  embalmed  for  our  age 
that  ancient  civilization.  The  excavations  in  the 
streets  where  Pliny  used  to  walk  exhibit  to  us 
ancient  art  and  ancient  vice ;  rich  homes  and 
defiled  inmates ;  beauteous  statues  and  vicious 
sculptors ;  the  cultivated  intellect,  but  the  dark- 
ened conscience. 

Journeying  up  the  Nile  to  Thebes  and  Mem- 
phis, our  travellers  are  amazed  to  find  that  hid- 
eous vices  were  once  worshipped  as  gods  in  those 
cities,  where  splendor  and  sin  were  united  like 
gold  and  mud  in  the  same  image.  We  remember 
also  that  Cicero,  who  argues  so  eloquently  for  the 
rights  of  the  poet  Archias,  also  used  his  eloquence 
to  defend  a  gladiatorial  fight  in  which  a  thousand 
slaves  were  slain  to  satisfy  the  bloodthirsty  in- 
stincts of  eighty  thousand  of  the  leading  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  that  so-called  "golden  age." 
Lecky  speaks  of  ten  vices  in  Cicero's  day,  only 
two  of  which  remain  —  intemperance  and  the 
social  evil.  It  seems  hard  to  realize  that  a  few 
hundred  years  ago  the  sale  of  an  estate  in  Eng- 
land carried  with  it  the  people  on  the  land,  and 


50  Social  Progress  and  the  Influence 

that  a  little  earlier  the  Saxon  hero  used  his 
enemy's  skull  for  a  drinking  cup.  When  Charle- 
magne marched  through  France,  he  found  multi- 
tudes whose  religion  it  was  to  eat  dirt  and  roll 
their  persons  daily  in  the  black  mud.  But  now 
at  Carlisle  the  visitors  behold  young  Indians  who 
stand  often  upon  the  platform  and  tell  of  their 
ambitions  for  the  homes  and  schools  and  churches 
of  their  people  in  words  of  eloquence  so  simple 
and  majestic  that  audiences  are  held  spellbound. 
Yet  from  the  days  when  Ponce  de  Leon  first 
landed  in  Florida,  to  these  modern  times  when 
the  frontier  line  of  civilization  has  advanced  into 
the  Dakotas,  each  newly  discovered  tribe  of 
Indians  has  appeared  offering  innocent  children 
as  sacrifices  and  by  strange  incantations  trying 
to  appease  the  world  devil.  The  Greek  poet 
tells  us  that  when  Ulysses  was  pursuing  the 
y  monster  to  slay  it,  the  warrior  traced  the  serpent 
by  a  black  mark  left  upon  the  grass  and  flowers. 
Thus  these  monsters,  called  vices,  have  crawled 
like  serpents  down  the  aisles  of  time.  Upon  all 
the  ages  and  nations,  vices  have  made  many  deep 
black  marks.  But  some  hand  has  slain  nearly 
all  of  these  defiling  monsters.  With  Guizot,  let 
us  gladly  confess  that  the  advance  of  Christ's 
teachings  has  been  so  closely  followed  by  the 


Of  Jesus  Christ  in  Civilisation  51 

decline  of  vice  as  to  compel  the  logical  mind  to 
associate  them  in  the  relation  of  cause  and 
effect. 

Doubtless  Christ's  emphasis  of  individual  worth 
has  done  much  to  usher  in  the  new  era  for  hu- 
manity. When  Queen  Victoria  celebrated  her 
golden  anniversary,  the  gifts  sent  her  were  such 
as  were  thought  to  become  a  queen  and  empress. 
Each  book  was  bound  in  gold,  each  texture  held 
shining  threads,  and  the  very  boxes  were  inlaid 
with  pearls  and  jewels ;  and  to  Christ  belonged 
such  majesty  of  mingled  beauty  and  strength 
and  gentleness  that  society  felt  that  the  human 
soul  could  scarcely  be  painted  in  colors  too  rich 
for  which  such  a  one  as  Christ  had  lived  and 
died.  His  enthusiasm  for  humanity  immediately 
began  to  make  itself  felt.  A  glorious  sense  of 
human  brotherhood  moved  outward  over  the 
earth  like  an  advancing  summer.  If  the  em- 
perors and  the  kings  did  not  at  once  descend 
from  their  thrones,  the  slave  and  the  serfs  did 
begin  to  rise  to  the  level  of  those  who  held  the 
sceptre.  It  was  not  so  much  a  crumbling  of 
thrones  or  a  falling  of  crowned  heads  as  it  was 
an  upbuilding  of  the  common  people.  In  analyz- 
ing Burns's  song,  "A  Man's  a  Man  for  A'  that 
the  scholars  trace  it  back  to  Christ's  parable 


rz- 
» 

*—       >^ 

flU*-^ 


I 


52  Social  Progress  and  the  Influence 

Lazarus  and  the  rich  man.  Before  Christ's 
searching  vision,  the  purple  and  the  fine  linen 
fell  away  from  Dives,  and  his  rags  fell  away 
from  the  beggared  Lazarus.  Christ  placed  His 
finger  upon  the  soul,  capitalized  manhood,  and 
made  the  name  of  man  a  title  superior  to  that 
of  ruler  and  lord.  Soon,  because  men  were 
equals  and  brothers,  the  church  adopted  the 
same  ritual  for  high  and  low,  bond  and  free. 
Emperor  Constantine  and  his  rude  soldiers  knelt 
together  before  the  same  minister  and  in  baptism 
received  alike  the  cleansing  flood.  The  marriage 
ceremony  that  bound  with  golden  chains  prince 
and  princess,  was  used  also  for  servant  and  maid. 
In  the  solemn  hour  of  death  the  words,  "  I  am 
the  resurrection  and  the  life,"  were  read  over 
the  bier  of  kings  and  paupers  alike.  Thus 
Christianity  assaulted  the  vanity  of  the  heart 
through  its  outer  trappings,  even  as  the  sun 
assaults  an  armor  of  ice.  The  old  proverb  was, 
"Call  a  man  a  thief,  and  he  will  rob  you."  The 
new  proverb  becomes,  "  Trust  a  man,  and  he  will 
not  disappoint  you."  Christ  unfurled  the  flag 
of  equality  above  palace  and  slave  market.  He 
waved  the  golden  rule  above  each  law  and  stat- 
ute book.  He  caused  the  state  to  set  guardian 
angels  beside  each  sleeping  babe.  Above  each 


Of  Jesus  Christ  in  Civilisation  53 

doorway  for  vice  and  crime  He  wrote  the  words, 
"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart."  Soon  society 
began  to  forsake  the  paths  of  vice  and  crime 
and  turned  glad  feet  into  the  way  that  led  unto 
happiness  and  virtue. 

Those  who  were  of  royal  birth  felt  they  must 
not  live  like  slaves.  The  Germans  have  a  poem 
of  the  transformation  of  a  cottage.  While  the 
peasant  slept  in  his  chair,  he  dreamed  ;  and,  lo  ! 
•the  thatched  roof  was  lifted  up  and  became  the 
roof  of  a  temple.  The  little  cracked  windows 
became  large,  arched,  and  filled  with  colored 
glass.  The  low  walls  gave  place  to  glorious 
paintings.  The  fireplace  became  a  golden  altar, 
over  which  bowed  the  angel  forms  of  his  chil- 
dren departed  and  dead.  Oh,  beautiful  story ! 
picturing  for  us  that  strange  transformation  that 
passed  over  society  after  Christ  taught  the  doc- 
trine of  individual  worth  and  divine  sonship. 

Christianity,  while  chiefly  busying  itself  with 
teaching  the  art  of  right  living  and  of  character 
building  here,  as  a  preparation  for  the  life  here- 
after, has  accomplished  many  incidental  results 
for  man's  happiness  and  welfare.  Orchards  are 
planted  primarily  for  one  purpose — to  secure 
food  and  fruit  against  the  long  winter.  But  hav- 
ing met  the  requirements  of  hunger,  the  orchards 


54  Social  Progress  and  the  Influence 

go  on  to  delight  the  eye  with  blossoms,  to  fill 
the  air  with  perfume,  to  provide  grateful  shade 
for  man  and  beast,  and  homes  for  countless 
birds.  Thus,  Christianity  is  a  tree  that  bears 
indeed  the  fruit  of  immortal  life  ;  but  it  bears 
also  a  thousand  other  fruits  for  the  life  that  now 
is.  By  reason  of  the  great  themes  with  which 
it  is  concerned,  —  themes  called  God,  law,  mind, 
conscience,  truth,  beauty,  —  Christianity  early  de- 
veloped an  affiliation  for  education  and  learning. 
To  advance  its  principles,  and  defend  them,  to 
secure  wise  advocates  for  its  truths,  it  founded 
colleges,  schools,  and  literatures.  Having  edu- 
cated teachers  for  the  sanctuary,  it  began  to 
expand  its  plans,  and  came  to  include  the  train- 
ing of  poets  and  jurists,  of  physicians  and  sci- 
entists. From  the  day,  when  the  boy  Christ 
remained  in  the  Temple  to  converse  with  the 
wise  men,  Christianity  has  been  the  friend  of 
the  mind  and  an  advocate  of  the  increase  of 
knowledge.  Nourished  in  its  stimulating  atmos- 
phere, such  minds  as  those  of  Bacon  and  Milton 
and  Angelo,  and  thousands  of  illustrious  com- 
peers, have  come  with  genius  enriched  by  the 
stimulating  atmosphere  in  which  they  have  lived. 
Where  other  religions  have  produced  here  and 
there  a  single  mediocre  mind,  Christianity  has 


Of  Jesus  Christ  in  Civilisation  55 

produced   during   like   periods  a  thousand   giants 
in  the  realm  of  philosophy  or  art  or  learning. 

Single  minds  do  exist  in  the  history  of  China  or 
India  or  Africa,  but  they  exist  just  as  occasional 
palm  trees  and  springs  are  found,  at  intervals  of 
hundreds  of  miles,  in  the  Sahara  Desert.  But 
entering  moral  deserts  like  England  in  the  year 
590,  and  Germany  in  700,  Christianity  has 
changed  the  climate  for  nations,  and  made 
genius  and  greatness  indigenous.  To  this  enrich- 
ing influence  upon  learning  must  be  added  Chris- 
tianity's natural  affiliation  with  the  fine  arts.  To 
describe  that  eternal  summer  land  beyond  the 
grave,  John  has  swept  together  all  gold  for  the 
streets,  all  gems  for  its  walls,  all  cool  fountains 
and  streams,  all  sweet  song,  all  noble  speech.  So 
beautiful  is  that  realm,  said  Paul,  that  eye  had 
not  seen  or  ear  heard,  nor  could  mind  conceive 
its  splendors.  The  task,  therefore,  of  portraying 
that  ideal  land  placed  every  artist  upon  his  mettle. 
Architects  taxed  themselves  to  build  cathedrals 
worthy  of  Him  whom  the  heaven  of  heavens  could 
not  contain.  Painters  vied  with  each  other  in 
creating  seraphs  and  angels  beautiful  enough  to 
adorn  the  walls  of  Christ's  sanctuary.  Sculptors 
went  everywhither  searching  out  marble  white 
enough  for  Christ's  forehead. 


56  Social  Progress  and  the  Influence 

Each  Handel  taxed  himself  for  music  sweet 
enough  for  His  hymns  of  praise.  Soon  the  great- 
ness of  Christianity's  themes  lent  greatness  to 
the  minds  studying  them.  For  great  thought 
makes  the  thinker  great  also,  while  petty  thoughts 
make  insignificant  thinkers.  It  was  the  woe,  the 
grief  of  three  million  slaves  that  lent  eloquence  to 
Wendell  Phillips.  It  was  the  sorrows  of  the  poor 
of  England  that  lent  eloquence  to  John  Bright. 
It  was  the  Madonna  that  made  each  Titian,  and 
the  Paradise  that  made  each  Milton.  Take  the 
seed  idea  and  the  mother  principles  of  Christian- 
ity out  of  the  last  one  thousand  years  of  time,  and 
society's  storehouses,  called  galleries  and  libraries, 
would  be  emptied.  An  English  jurist  tells  of 
falling  asleep  and  dreaming  that  every  Christian 
idea  had  been  stricken  out  of  his  law  books. 
Opening  the  familiar  books,  he  found  one-third 
of  each  page  blank,  and  all  pages  meaningless. 
Thus,  if  by  divine  fiat  every  Christian  idea  should 
be  blotted  out  of  the  library,  the  museum,  the 
statute  books,  all  would  become  meaningless. 
The  very  structure  of  civilization  would  crumble 
into  a  heap  of  ruins.  Eloquence,  song,  laws, 
reforms,  civic  virtues,  would  all  fall  with  the  fall 
of  the  great  ideas  that  produced  them. 

This  uplifted  name  is  also  exerting  a  profound 


Of  Jesus  Christ  in  Civilisation  57 

influence  upon  the  world's  hope  of  progress. 
Frederick  Schlegel  was  deeply  impressed  by  the 
thought  that  all  other  religious  systems  are  living 
upon  the  prestige  of  the  past.  Looking  back- 
ward, they  borrow  their  light  from  "a  golden 
age  "  forever  gone.  "  The  gods  hate  the  prosper- 
ous," was  the  ancient  proverb.  And  so  with  pro- 
found melancholy  the  Greeks  and  Romans  looked 
longingly  backward  toward  a  greatness  that  was 
rapidly  receding,  for  they  felt  that  the  future  held 
for  them  only  awful  and  inevitable  catastrophe. 
Each  disciple  of  Buddha  or  Confucius  also  speaks 
wistfully  of  a  departed  glory.  For  Christ  alone 
"  the  golden  age "  is  in  the  to-morrow.  With 
buoyant  and  aspiring  spirit,  with  confident  and 
unyielding  expectancy  of  a  general  and  certain 
progress  of  society  toward  liberty  and  light, 
Christianity  moves  steadily  forward  into  the 
future.  And  as  a  plan  turns  a  pile  of  bricks 
into  a  house,  turns  a  mob  into  an  army,  turns 
scattered  sounds  into  a  symphony,  turns  warring 
sections  into  a  nation,  so  this  unfolding  plan  and 
purpose  of  God  unifies  events,  constrains  oppos-  \^ 
ing  nations,  gives  each  century  its  stint,  gives  a 
definite  goal  to  history.  That  conviction  of 
Christianity's  ultimate  triumph  never  failed  the 
fathers  or  martyrs.  It  lent  the  soldier  his  uncon- 


58  Social  Progress  and  the  Influence 

querable  courage ;  it  lent  the  hero  and  reformer 
his  adamantine  will ;  it  lent  the  scholar  his  stain- 
less life.  Beginning  a  mere  dot  on  the  map, 
Christianity  has  now  subdued  and  bannered  whole 
continents.  It  began  at  Olivet  with  the  twelve 
disciples.  In  forty  days  there  were  three  thou- 
sand.  When  John  died  in  Ephesus  there  were 
half  a  million ;  to-day  these  have  become  four 
hundred  million.  Napoleon  said,  "  He  who  does 
not  attack  and  plunge  his  standard  into  the  thick 
of  the  enemy's  ranks  must  soon  pull  down  his 
flag."  Whatever  system,  therefore,  is  sending 
the  thousands  of  scholars,  professors,  physicians, 
editors,  into  other  nations,  holds  the  keynote  of 
progress,  and  will  sooner  or  later  mount  to  the 
world's  throne.  To-day  our  young  lawyers  study 
Sir  Henry  Maine's  "Ancient  Society,"  "Ancient 
Law,"  "Early  Institutions." 

But  these  are  lectures  written  by  a  jurist  in 
the  law  school  of  Calcutta,  founded  by  Christian 
teachers  only  a  hundred  years  ago.  There  are 
three  million  other  young  men  and  women  in 
India  in  Christian  colleges,  academies,  and 
schools.  Soon  this  will  mean  a  free  press,  libra- 
ries in  every  village  of  that  tropic  land,  railways, 
manual  training  schools,  free  institutions  —  and 
after  that  "the  flood"  of  knowledge.  And  so 


Of  Jesus  Christ  in  Civilisation  59 

of  Africa  and  China ;  the  columns  of  light  are 
marching  straight  for  the  heart  of  each  continent. 
Christianity  is  a  young  giant  that  in  three  centu- 
ries leaped  to  the  throne  of  the  Caesars.  The  rate 
of  progress  that  has  prevailed  since  Shakespeare's 
day  will  in  three  centuries  more  seat  Christianity 
upon  every  great  throne  of  our  earth.  But  can  it 
conquer  the  civilized  barbarians  at  home  ?  Has  it 
power  to  stay  lawlessness  in  the  city?  to  check 
the  ravages  of  poverty  and  intemperance  ?  There 
is  a  proverb  that  "What  has  been  done  can  be 
done."  Did  Christianity  find  the  finest  scholars 
and  noblest  ladies  of  Rome  attending  gladiatorial 
shows,  and  does  it  now  guard  the  very  horses 
from  cruelty  ?  Did  it  find  in  the  finest  temple  of 
Corinth  vices  worshipped  and  deified  that  now  it 
is  shameful  to  mention  ?  The  past,  at  least,  is 
secure.  And  because  it  has  ideals  for  the  city, 
the  forum,  and  the  market,  Christianity's  future 
is  certain.  It  is  urged  that  to-day  in  Europe 
there  are  nations  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  soldiers 
awaiting  orders  to  march. 

But  what  if,  at  one  time,  there  were  five 
Christian  rulers  upon  the  thrones  of  London,  Ber- 
lin, Paris,  Vienna,  and  St.  Petersburg?  Would 
not  the  barracks  and  citadels  be  emptied,  the 
soldiers  drop  their  bayonets  to  turn  toward  the 


60        Social  Progress  and  the  Influence  of  Jesus 

fields  with  the  pruning  knives  and  sickles  ? 
What  if  all  our  institutions  and  peoples  should 
seek  to  incarnate  Christ's  example?  No  more 
war ;  no  more  clanking  of  chains  in  prisons ;  no 
more  lazy,  thriftless  poverty;  no  crushing  monop- 
oly ;  no  cruelty;  no  harsh  judgments;  each  bear- 
ing another's  weakness.  A  beautiful  dream ! 
But  ideals  rule  the  world.  And  Christ's  ideal  is 
the  prophecy  of  what  shall  be  when  men  and 
events  have  hastened  on  toward  "  that  one  far- 
off  event  toward  which  the  whole  creation 
moves."  True,  the  ideal  may  be  realized  slowly. 

WWBHBS!JJ5?5HB^"^H^('' 

Nature  changes  no  climate  rapidly.  Physically, 
man  does  not  sleep  midst  snowdrifts  to  waken 
midst  roses.  The  difference  between  the  icicle 
and  a  ripe  cherry  represents  for  the  planet  a 
journey  of  many  millions  of  miles.  And  in 
morals,  with  God  a  thousand  years  are  as  one 
day.  God  has  time  enough  and  to  spare.  Wise 
men,  therefore,  will  take  no  counsel  of  crouching 
>-  fear.  The  century-plant  takes  a  hundred  years 
for  root  and  trunk,  but  blossoms  in  a  night.  And 
nations,  also,  shall  in  a  day  be  born  into  culture 
and  character.  Soon  every  knee  shall  bow  to 
the  name  that  is  above  every  name,  and  He 
whom  God  has  lifted  to  the  world's  throne  shall 
in  turn  lift  the  world  to  a  place  beside  Him. 


Ill 


"  Jesus  Cfjrtst  tfje  Supreme  Example  of  Genius 
intfje  Eealmof  Intellect" 


"  Truth  is  always  holy,  holiness  always  wise.  I  will  that 
we  keep  terms  with  sin  and  a  sinful  literature  and  society  no 
longer,  but  live  a  life  of  discovery  and  performance.  Accept 
the  intellect,  and  it  will  accept  us.  Be  the  lowly  ministers  of 
that  pure  omniscience,  and  deny  it  not  before  men.  It  will 
burn  up  all  profane  literature,  all  base  current  opinions,  all  the 
false  powers  of  the  world,  as  in  a  moment  of  time.  It  is  the 
office,  I  doubt  not,  of  this  age  to  annul  that  adulterous  divorce 
which  the  superstition  of  many  ages  has  effected  between  the 
intellect  and  holiness.  The  lovers  of  goodness  have  been 
one  class,  the  students  of  wisdom  another ;  as  if  either  could 
exist  in  any  purity  without  the  other." 

—  EMERSON,  "The  Method  of  Nature,"  p.  210. 

"There  is  a  man  whose  tomb  is  guarded  by  love,  whose 
sepulchre  is  not  only  glorious,  as  a  prophet  declared,  but 
whose  sepulchre  is  loved.  There  is  a  man  whose  ashes,  after 
eighteen  centuries,  have  not  grown  cold,  who  daily  lives  again 
in  the  thoughts  of  an  innumerable  multitude  of  men ;  who  is 
visited  in  His  cradle  by  shepherds  and  frankincense  and  myrrh. 
There  is  a  man  whose  steps  are  unweariedly  retrodden  by  a 
large  portion  of  mankind,  and  who,  although  no  longer  pres- 
ent, is  followed  by  that  throng  in  all  the  scenes  of  His  bygone 
pilgrimage,  upon  the  knees  of  His  mother,  by  the  borders  of 
the  lakes,  to  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  in  the  byways  of  the 
valleys,  under  the  shade  of  the  olive  trees,  in  the  still  solitude 
of  the  deserts.  .  .  .  The  greatest  monuments  of  art  shelter 
His  sacred  images  ;  the  most  magnificent  ceremonies  assemble 
the  people  under  the  influence  of  His  name ;  poetry,  music, 
painting,  sculpture,  exhaust  their  resources  to  proclaim  His 
glory,  and  to  offer  Him  incense  worthy  of  the  adoration  which 
ages  have  consecrated  to  Him.  And  yet  upon  what  throne 
do  they  adore  Him  ?  Upon  a  Cross  ! " 
—  PERE  LACORDAIRE,  "  Conferences,"  pp.  82-83,  86-87. 


62 


Ill 


"JESUS  CHRIST  THE  SUPREME  EXAMPLE  OF  GENIUS 
IN  THE  REALM  OF  INTELLECT  " 

All  classes  confess  the  fascination  of  the  story  of  Christ. 
His  career  a  tragedy  despite  His  evangel  of  love.  Christ's 
supremacy  not  explained  by  His  moral  splendor.  His  influ- 
ence not  explained  by  emphasizing  his  qualities  as  a  hero  and 
leader.  To  all  these  considerations  must  be  added  His  su- 
premacy in  the  realm  of  intellect.  The  weight  of  mentality 
involved  in  the  thoughts  and  themes  with  which  He  deals. 
For  centuries  the  creative  minds  have  borrowed  their  mother 
principles  from  His  teachings.  The  tributes  of  the  orators 
and  dramatists.  What  is  style  ?  The  literary  style  of  the 
parables,  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  enormous 
intellectual  reserves  involved  in  the  optimism  of  Christ.  His 
intellectual  supremacy  indicated  by  His  recognition  of  the 
poor  and  His  anticipation  of  the  reign  of  the  common  people. 
His  views  of  God  suggest  His  infinite  superiority  to  other 
religious  thinkers.  The  vagueness  of  Plato's  and  of  So- 
crates' views  of  death,  in  contrast  with  Christ's  outlook  upon 
immortality. 

TT^ULL  nineteen  centuries  have  come  and  gone 
•*•  since  Jesus  Christ  entered  upon  His  im- 
mortal and  pathetic  career.  Now  that  long  time 
has  passed,  poets  and  philosophers  alike  confess 
that  His  story  is  the  most  fascinating  in  litera- 

63 


64          Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

ture,  while  if  His  teachings  still  inspire  the 
greatest  intellects,  His  sufferings  still  melt  the 
hardest  heart.  Few  and  evil  were  the  days  of 
His  pilgrimage.  In  an  era  when  soldiers  were 
brigands,  and  rulers  agents  of  misery  and  crime, 
this  young  carpenter  dedicated  His  unrivalled 
genius  to  deeds  of  mercy  and  became  the  knight- 
errant  of  the  poor  and  weak.  Having  poured 
forth  His  sympathies  in  unstinted  tides  ;  having 
filled  all  His  days  with  glorious  friendships, 
radiant  wisdom,  and  gentle  deeds ;  having  sup- 
ported the  fainting  multitudes  by  His  golden 
dreams  of  an  age  of  better  laws,  better  learning, 
better  liberty,  and  a  better  life, — He  who  had  done 
no  man  a  wrong,  nor  thought  it,  became  the 
central  figure  of  the  most  piteous  tragedy  in 
history.  Always  the  almoner  of  bounty  and 
benevolence,  at  a  moment  when  His  every  hour 
effulged  with  tenderness  and  mercy,  He  suddenly 
found  Himself  standing  in  the  very  vortex  of 
hatred,  while  envious  rulers  and  malignant 
priests  drew  their  weapons  and  closed  in  upon 
Him.  In  that  bitter  hour  friends  also  became 
enemies,  until  it  must  have  seemed  to  Him  as  if 
the  heavens  rained  slanders,  while  the  earth 
opened  to  pour  forth  falsehoods  like  lurid  lava. 
Piteous,  indeed,  were  the  sufferings  associated 


Of  Genius  in  the  Realm  of  Intellect         65 

with  His  execution,  but  more  pathetic  still  His 
mental  anguish.  Greatness  is  sensitiveness.  It 
is  the  fortune  of  the  creative  intellect  that  it 
works  only  in  an  atmosphere  of  sympathy.  For 
if  hatred  is  poison  and  distrust  paralysis,  by  so 
much,  therefore,  as  Jesus  Christ  surpassed  other 
men  in  His  mental  gifts,  by  that  much  did  He 
crave  the  sympathy  and  love  of  His  brother  man. 
Cherishing  the  eager  hope  that  when  at  last  life's 
end  did  come  He  should  be  esteemed  as  one  who 
had  loved  the  poor  and  weak  and  made  their  bur- 
dens His,  this  most  sensitive  heart  was  doomed  to 
die  at  the  hands  of  a  mob,  and  ended  His  career 
upon  a  cross,  —  a  stigma  so  odious  as  to  lend  a 
sting  sharper  than  death  itself.  But  now,  looking 
backward,  behold  what  transformations  His  spirit 
wrought !  No  princess  so  beautiful  but  that  she 
seeks  to  enhance  her  loveliness  by  the  cross  that 
Christ  redeemed  from  ugliness  to  beauty.  With 
His  name  orators  inspire  heroism  in  the  people. 
Poets  linger  about  His  story  as  bees  about  a 
clover  field.  His  teachings  have  lent  sweetness 
to  Handel's  music,  majesty  to  Canova's  marble, 
and  massiveness  to  Von  Rile's  church.  Vast  indeed 
is  our  earth,  yet  it  can  never  overtake  the  sun 
that  journeys  forward,  dragging  our  little  planet 
after  it.  Many,  too,  and  great,  the  heroes  of 


66          Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

history ;  but  though  future  ages  hold  many  sur- 
prises and  new  heroes  arise,  Christ's  name  and 
fame,  still  speeding  on  before,  are  distant,  and 
never  to  be  surpassed.  To  the  end  of  time,  great 
men  looking  forward,  shall  behold  Christ's  radiant 
figure  standing  in  the  golden  haze  where  earth 
and  sky  do  meet. 

Confessing  that  Christ's  name  is  above  other 
names,  some  philosophers  try  to  account  for  it  on 
grounds  other  than  intellectual.  They  explain 
His  supremacy  by  emphasizing  His  moral  supe- 
riority,—  an  argument  based  upon  His  stainless 
character  and  His  spotless  life.  Enemies  have 
searched  His  career  with  lighted  candles,  but 
no  hand  has  been  found  so  profane  or  vulgar 
as  to  tarnish  His  blameless  name.  Even  those 
who  have  reviled  the  church  have,  with  Renan, 
made  haste  to  proclaim  Christ's  preeminence, 
saying,  "  His  worship  will  grow  young  without 
ceasing,  His  story  will  call  forth  tears  without 
end,  while  coming  ages  will  proclaim  that  among 
the  sons  of  men  there  is  none  born  greater  than 
Jesus."  If  Christianity  has  journeyed  over  the 
continent  like  a  beautiful  civilization,  Christ's 
teachings  have  gone  forth  attended  by  His  spot- 
less character,  and  reenforced  by  His  stainless 
life.  Let  us  affirm  that  His  moral  purity  has 


Of  Genius  in  the  Realm  of  Intellect         67 

enabled  Christ  to  lend  a  roseate  hue  to  our  once 
darkened  earth. 

Another  group  of  thinkers  explain  His  influ 
ence  by  the  heroic  qualities  that  have  evoked  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  multitudes.  Of  necessity  the 
human  heart  hungers  for  heroes.  We  know  that 
artists'  pupils  will  go  everywhere  searching  for 
some  noble  master.  The  young  soldiers,  too, 
long  for  some  heroic  leader  and  general.  And 
once  the  great  man  stands  forth  fully  revealed, 
his  followers  will  for  him  die  a  thousand  deaths. 
Witness  the  enthusiasm  of  students  for  Socrates, 
Arnold,  and  Abelard !  Witness  the  devotion  of 
Scottish  clansmen  to  that  hero,  Robert  Bruce ! 
Witness  Garibaldi  saying :  "  Soldiers,  I  offer  you 
hunger,  thirst,  cold,  heat,  no  pay,  no  barracks,  no 
rations,  frequent  alarms,  forced  marches,  charges 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Whoever  loves  honor 
and  fatherland,  follow  me  !  "  Soon  responding 
peasants  followed  him  to  the  promised  death.  But 
Christ's  heroism  in  never  betraying  the  cause  of 
the  people  was  beyond  that  of  any  leader  what- 
soever. His  courage  in  fronting  opposition  and 
tyranny  excelled  that  of  any  soldier  or  general. 
He  bore  Himself  toward  His  disciple  band  after 
the  pattern  of  a  friendship  more  glorious  than 
that  of  any  Socrates  toward  his  disciples,  or  any 


68          Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

Coleridge  toward  his  noble  group.  Indeed,  His 
planetary  mind  and  His  full-orbed  heart  sweep 
together  all  possible  excellences  that  evoke  man's 
admiration  and  call  forth  transcendent  delight. 
And  at  last  the  generations  have  come  to  feel 
that  they  can  pour  forth  before  Him  all  that  is 
finest  in  thought  and  purest  in  feeling,  while 
aspirations  deep  and  pure,  without  fear  and  re- 
straint, may  go  soaring  and  singing  toward  the 
summit  of  His  lofty  spirit.  Of  old  the  Grecian 
people  celebrated  the  feast  of  the  harvest.  As- 
sembling before  their  temple,  each  harvester 
brought  his  ripe  sheaf,  his  purple  cluster,  and 
his  spray  of  flowers,  and  with  solemn  hymns  they 
^cast  all  down  in  a  golden  perfumed  heap  before 
the  marble  god.  But  to-day  the  unnumbered 
millions  feel  that  Christ's  heart  is  mercy  and  not 
marble,  and  assembling  before  Him  they  pour 
forth  their  secret  ideals,  their  hidden  heartaches, 
their  aspirations  and  prayers  and  hopes  and  fears, 
as  if  an  invisible  harvest  had  shed  jts  richest 
blooms  and  fruits  before  the  god  of  summer. 

But  for  those  who  love  all  the  facts  in  any  case 
it  is  not  enough  to  emphasize  the  fascination  of 
Christ's  dramatic  story,  His  lofty  morals,  and 
His  heroic  life.  Let  us  hasten  to  confess  that 
Christ  is  also  the  supreme  example  of  genius  in 


Of  Genius  in  the  Realm  of  Intellect         69 

the  realm  of  intellect.  Solitary  in  His  sinlessness, 
He  is  also  supreme  in  His  genius.  In  the  last 
analysis  it  is  mind  that  conquers.  Innocency  has 
little  value  in  an  infant  Innocency  and  charac- 
ter go  toward  value  as  they  go  toward  maturity 
and  great  strength.  A  saint  or  seer  like  Francis 
of  Assisi  represents  a  mind  working  righteously. 
Great  leaders  and  deliverers  like  Luther  and  Paul 
represent  mind  working  heroically.  Great  friends 
like  Socrates  and  John  represent  mind  working 
in  a  glow  of  love.  In  olden  times,  when  some 
noble  youth  entered  into  his  rights  as  prince  or 
king,  to  him  came  the  people  bringing  costly  gifts. 
One  offered  his  chariot,  another  his  steeds,  some 
brought  gold  and  gems.  Children  strewed  flowers 
in  the  way,  while  young  men  and  maidens  marched 
before,  singing  triumphal  songs.  To-day,  to  the 
youth  entering  the  earthly  scene  comes  the  in- 
tellect offering  him  fire,  a  tool,  a  book,  a  song,  a 
prayer.  Without  knowledge  man  grovels  like  a 
beast,  but  wisdom  lends  wings  to  the  mind  that 
the  soul  may  soar  and  sing.  Society  has  climbed 
upward  upon  a  ladder  whose  bottom  is  in  the  mud, 
whose  top  rests  against  the  skies.  Now  intellect 
has  wrought  every  round  in  this  ladder  up  which 
ambitious  men  go  climbing.  When  some  traveller 
finds  a  tribe  with  no  clothing,  no  alphabet,  no 


70          Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

money,  no  marriage,  no  laws,  he  calls  it  barbarous. 
But  when  a  nation  has  fire,  iron,  engine,  bridge, 
home,  liberty,  religion,  it  is  called  civilized.  Yet 
all  these  symbols  of  progress  represent  achieve- 
ments of  intellect.  The  naked  savage  who  lies 
in  the  sun  listlessly  gloating  over  his  glass  beads 
is  a  creature  that  sits  in  the  silent  dungeon  slowly 
starving  to  death,  to  whom  wisdom  has  never  come 
as  a  redeemer  and  saviour.  Some  cultured  Burke 
or  Wordsworth  represents  a  man  whose  soul  has 
been  clothed  with  arts  and  sciences  as  rich,  radiant 
garments.  Civilization  itself  is  simply  a  granary 
into  which  society  has  swept  all  the  rich  harvests 
of  the  mind.  Now  ten-talent  men  are  few.  Thus 
far  philosophers  have  found  five  men  whose  genius 
is  of  the  first  order,  and  whose  work  has  been 
epic-making  and  revolutionary.  But  the  dizzy 
space  that  separates  these  men  from  the  rudest 
savage  is  not  so  great  as  the  space  that  separates 
earth's  five  greatest  intellects  from  this  divine 
carpenter,  whose  achievements  for  home  and 
friendship,  for  law  and  liberty,  for  learning  and 
religion,  make  His  forehead  to  strike  against  the 
stars. 

Christ's  intellectual  supremacy  appears  from 
the  greatness  of  the  thoughts  and  themes  with 
which  He  enriched  earth's  loftiest  spirits.  Schol- 


Of  Genius  in  the  Realm  of  Intellect         71 

ars  count  the  renaissance  as  one  of  the  greatest 
moments  in  the  history  of  art  and  letters.  If 
we  call  the  roll  of  the  elect  ones  then  seeking 
to  enrich  men's  lives,  we  mention  the  names  of 
Dante,  Raphael,  Angelo,  with  others  like  Milton 
and  his  coworkers.  Yet  all  these  sons  of  genius 
have  had  some  great  thought  that  they  have  bor- 
rowed from  Jesus  Christ  as  the  central  thought 
of  their  glorious  career.  Indeed,  it  is  scarcely 
too  much  to  say  that  those  thoughts  of  Christ 
called  "  God  "  and  "  heaven  "  covered  all  Italy 
with  works  of  art  and  filled  all  ears  with  sounds 
of  music.  To  the  architect  came  Christ  with 
His  thought  of  a  "  Father  in  heaven,"  indeed, 
but  who  was  still  not  "far  from  any  one  of  His 
children."  Brooding  over  that  thought  Angelo 
caused  his  spire  to  point  upward,  and  standing 
beneath  the  great  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  the  mul- 
titude bowed  down  and  wept  in  the  presence  of 
Him  whom  the  heaven  of  heavens  could  not 
contain.  To  the  artists  also  seeking  to  make 
beautiful  the  walls  of  the  chapels  Christ  lent  a 
Madonna  for  the  panels  and  angels  and  seraphs 
for  the  ceilings.  To  the  orator  climbing  the 
pulpit  stairs  He  lent  the  eloquence  of  those 
great  themes  called  the  laws  of  home  and  hap- 
piness and  heaven.  When  some  publican,  con- 


72          Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

sumed  with  remorse,  smote  upon  his  breast,  and 
some  Magdalen  wept  bitterly  for  her  sins,  He 
lent  the  musician  a  "  Miserere  "  ;  or,  when  the 
worshippers  rose  in  exultant  mood,  a  "Joyous 
Gloria."  Remembering  also  that  Christ  had 
said,  "Take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  My  little 
ones,"  parents  and  teachers  founded  schools  and 
colleges,  and  so  attained  their  fame  as  educa- 
tors. Brooding  over  Christ's  thoughts  of  the 
wideness  of  God's  mercy,  Luther  conceived  his 
reform  in  religion.  From  Christ's  thoughts  of  the 
fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man, 
Hampden  and  Cromwell  borrowed  their  move- 
ment for  liberty.  The  golden  rule  of  Christ  also 
lent  Garrison  and  Phillips  and  their  coworkers 
their  love  for  black  and  white  alike.  Christ's 
words,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,"  sent  Living- 
stone into  Africa  and  Duff  to  found  his  colleges 
in  India.  Christ's  identification  of  Himself  with 
the  poor  and  the  weak  also  sent  John  Ruskin 
and  Arnold  Toynbee  and  General  Booth  into  the 
submerged  districts.  Indeed,  His  thoughts  upon 
friendship,  home,  childhood,  woman,  love,  self- 
sacrifice,  philanthropy,  religion,  have  ushered  in 
an  era  when  Christ  would  seem  to  have  retained 
the  novelists  to  write  pleas  for  the  poor  and  weak, 
the  poets  with  the  "  In  Memoriams,"  to  encour- 


Of  Genius  in  the  Realm  of  Intellect          73 

age  His  pilgrims,  the  jurists  to  enact  laws  against 
injustice,  the  reformers  to  overthrow  those  who 
oppress  the  poor,  the  rich  to  pour  out  their 
wealth  in  a  golden  river  for  the  enrichment 
of  the  common  people.  Though  nearly  three 
centuries  have  passed,  Shakespeare  as  yet  has 
conquered  but  few  great  students  of  four 
nationalities  that  have  given  us  really  great 
commentaries  upon  his  immortal  dramas.  No 
young  scholar  has  ever  felt  so  interested  in  the 
bard  of  Stratford  that  he  has  gone  forth  to  some 
province  of  Africa,  and,  in  order  to  give  his 
beloved  poet  to  the  people,  formulated  their  rude  I  / 
speech  into  written  language.  Yet  during  this 
century  alone  the  intellectual  stimulus  of  Christ's 
story  has  been  such  that  more  than  two  hundred 
dictionaries  and  grammars  in  as  many  dialects  and 
languages  have  been  compiled  for  the  furtherance 
of  Christ's  thoughts  and  the  enrichment  of  man's 
life.  In  view  of  His  influence  upon  law,  litera- 
ture, letters,  and  life,  it  seems  hard  not  to  believe 
in  Christ's  supremacy  in  the  realm  of  intellect. 

For  some  reason,  no  author  has  ever  spoken  of 
Christ  as  earth's  supreme  literary  artist.  Men 
have  discussed  His  ideas  of  childhood  and  home 
and  friendship  and  heaven,  but  they  have  held 
themselves  well  away  from  all  words  as  to  the 


74          Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

marvellous  skill  with  which  He  formulated  ideas 
so  melodious  that,  though  they  have  been  trans- 
lated twice,  they  still  breathe  the  sound  of  an 
ethereal  music.  The  mystery  of  style  has  never 
been  discovered.  It  is  wrapt  in  clouds  and  mys- 
tery. The  poet  Watson  thought  style  was  high 
breeding.  "What  is  it,"  he  asked,  "that  we 
admire  in  a  splendid  horse  as  it  arches  its  neck 
and  lifts  its  magnificent  limbs  ?  It  is  style.  It 
is  the  lofty  bearing  inherited  from  a  select  ances- 
try. And  in  literature  style  is  a  mark  of  purest 
mental  aristocracy,  the  most  untainted  intellect- 
ual blood."  The  perfect  horse  has  style.  Car- 
lyle  goes  limping  with  "a  style,"  and  Browning 
has  "a  style,"  and  Gibbon  "a  grand  style."  But 
the  "Sermon  on  the  Mount"  has  not  "a  style." 
It  has  style ;  therefore,  it  is  immortal.  For,  in  the 
last  analysis,  style  is  simply  a  great  soul  rushing 
forth  in  words  of  absolutely  unsurpassable  sim- 
plicity. Christ's  thoughts,  injured  by  translators 
and  marred  by  copyists,  seem  like  those  precious 
marbles  from  the  hands  of  Phidias :  the  very  frag- 
ments are  so  beautiful  as  to  evoke  the  admiration 
of  all  the  beholders.  Nevertheless,  His  words  as 
quoted  by  His  four  biographers  represent  in  form 
and  thought  the  highest  products  of  genius  that 
the  literary  art  has  ever  produced.  Charles  Dick- 


Of  Genius  in  the  Realm  of  Intellect         75 

ens  was  the  great  master  of  the  pathetic  style. 
When  the  novelist  was  asked  what  is  the  most 
touching  story  in  literature,  he  answered,  "The 
story  of  the  Prodigal  Son."  Coleridge  took  all 
knowledge  to  his  province,  and  his  conversation 
sparkled  with  jewels  of  thought,  yet,  when  asked 
for  the  richest  passage  in  literature,  he  answered, 
"The  Beatitudes."  Edmund  Kean  was  a  great 
actor  and  artist,  but  there  was  one  passage  so  full 
of  tears  that  he  thought  no  man  could  properly 
render  it  —  the  one  beginning,  "  Come  unto  me  all 
ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."  From  the  view  point  of  the  statesman, 
Burke  said  the  most  impressive  political  document 
on  the  rights  of  man  was  the  "Sermon  on  the 
Mount."  It  is  a  striking  fact,  too,  that  in  all  lit- 
erature the  sentence  best  loved  by  children  is 
Christ's  "  Suffer  the  children  to  come  unto  me  " ; 
the  sentence  best  loved  by  the  aged,  "  Let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled  "  ;  the  sentence  best  loved  by 
men,  the  one  beginning,  "For  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son."  In 
hours  of  health  and  success  men  may  love  the 
majestic  pages  of  Plato,  or  the  rhythmic  beauty  of 
Ruskin,  but  in  the  last  hour  scholars  and  statesmen 
alike  proclaim,  "  Read  me  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ  ; 
they  alone  breathe  the  language  of  eternity." 


76          Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

Consider  Christ's  enormous  intellectual  re- 
sources. Optimism  is  consciousness  of  hidden 
reserves.  Pessimism  is  poverty  of  resource.  Vic- 
tory is  with  him  who  holds  the  last  fact  in  the 
case.  The  poets  of  despair,  like  Arnold  and  Thom- 
son, feel  themselves  unequal  to  the  problems  of 
life,  and  the  egotist  exclaims,  "  If  I  go,  who  re- 
mains ? "  In  the  last  analysis  pessimism  is  igno- 
rance working  toward  fear.  Ignorant,  the  savage 
fears  the  storm  cloud,  and  grown  wise  he  wel- 
comes the  rain  for  the  field.  In  hours  when  vice 
comes  in  like  a  flood,  when  crime  and  passion  are 
rampant,  when  sufferings  seem  to  sweep  over  the 
earth  like  sheeted  storms,  men  grow  discouraged 
and  fall  into  depression.  But  Christ  stands  forth, 
the  sublimest  optimist  in  history.  Conscious  of 
His  vast  intellectual  reserves,  He  felt  Himself 
equal  to  any  emergency.  The  moment  when  He 
entered  this  earthly  scene  was  the  darkest  mo- 
ment in  history.  It  was  an  hour  when  tyranny 
and  crime  had  gone  upon  a  carnival.  It  seemed 
as  if  despots  had  determined  to  leave  earth  not 
one  of  the  gifted  children  of  song  or  eloquence  or 
philosophy  or  morals.  Julius  Caesar,  the  writer 
and  ruler,  had  been  murdered.  Cicero,  the  orator, 
had  been  assassinated.  Herod,  who  ruled  over 
Christ's  city,  murdered  his  two  brothers,  his  wife, 


Of  Genius  in  the  Realm  of  Intellect          77 

Mariamne,  slew  the  children  of  Bethlehem,  and, 
dying,  ordered  his  nobles  to  be  executed,  that 
mourning  for  the  king  might  be  widespread.  Yet 
in  such  an  era,  when  He  saw  a  thousand  wrongs 
to  be  achieved,  Christ  maintained  His  serenity, 
and  reigned  victorious  over  life's  troubles,  believ- 
ing that  with  God  "a  thousand  years  are  as  one 
day."  He  taught  His  disciples  that  God  was 
abroad  everywhere,  leavening  society  like  yeast ; 
that  growth  was  the  genius  of  the  universe ;  that 
God  can  make  vices  virtues,  pains  to  be  medicine 
and  tears  to  be  joys ;  that  ignorance  and  sin  and 
lying  and  uncleanliness  shall  become  extinct  like 
ancient  sea  monsters.  He  was  the  poet  leading 
men  to  see  "  the  best  that  glimmers  in  the  worst, 
to  taste  the  fruit  before  the  blossom  falls,  to 
hear  the  lark  within  the  songless  egg "  ;  to  dis- 
cern the  wisdom  of  the  sage  in  the  prattle  of  the 
child.  Looking  forward  He  saw  the  vices  waning, 
saw  the  earth  growing  roseate  with  benevolence 
and  love,  beheld  an  era  when  happiness  should  be 
universal  and  righteousness  native  unto  young  and 
old  alike.  Because  of  the  breadth  of  His  outlook 
upon  the  movement  of  man  and  events,  He  was 
the  sublimest  optimist  in  history.  There  was, 
indeed,  a  moment  on  Calvary  when  all  the  woes 
and  wrongs  of  the  weary  multitudes  going  strug- 


78          Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

gling,  floundering,  falling  through  the  wilderness, 
seemed  to  pass  over  Him,  and  earth's  sorrows 
surged  through  His  heart  with  all  the  might  of 
a  pitiless  storm,  and  in  that  hour  He  cried  out, 
"  My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ? "  But  the 
tumultuous  hours  of  Gethsemane  and  Calvary 
were  like  these  sudden  summer  thunder-storms, 
when  the  night  is  big  with  terror,  when  each 
moment  is  full  of  darkness  and  conflict  and  tur- 
moil, when  fierce  winds  tugging  at  the  trees 
beat  them  to  the  ground,  —  storms  whose  darkness 
passes  into  cloudless  mornings,  when  the  air  is 
/  steeped  with  sunshine,  when  leaves  stand  dripping 
and  motionless  and  every  perfumed  bush  is  full  of 
song  and  each  tranquil  hour  is  full  of  radiant 
victory.  Thus  Christ  passed  swiftly  from  the 
midnight  of  Gethsemane  to  the  serene  victory  of 
His  ascension  morn. 

Consider  Christ's  intellectual  supremacy  as 
manifest  in  His  statement  that  the  only  sure 
basis  of  social  advancement  is  the  progress  of  the 
common  people.  Until  His  time  all  philosophers 
had  argued  that  the  only  way  to  elevate  the  multi- 
tude was  to  strengthen  the  patrician  classes,  exalt- 
ing as  leaders  the  sons  of  strength  or  the  sons  of 
genius  or  great  generals.  But  Christ  announced 
a  revolutionary  principle.  He  came  forward,  say- 


Of  Genius  in  the  Realm  of  Intellect         79 

ing  that  the  true  leader  is  only  a  step  in  advance 
of  the  pilgrim  band ;  that  the  great  statesman  and 
deliverer  must  find  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  peo- 
ple their  nourishment  and  stimulus ;  that  since 
the  people  follow  best  the  hero  who  best  under- 
stands them,  the  true  leader  comes  from  among 
the  common  people,  and  is  lifted  up  upon  their 
shoulders.  And  this  principle  meant  more  to 
society  than  Newton's  principle  of  gravity  meant 
in  the  movement  of  the  stars  and  suns.  From 
the  very  moment  that  Christ  proclaimed  the  rise 
and  reign  of  the  people,  the  generations  passed 
under  the  influence  of  His  great  impulse. 
Thrones  began  to  come  down  and  the  people 
to  go  up.  Social  vices  began  to  wane  and  the 
virtues  to  wax.  The  sons  and  daughters  of 
strength,  like  Ambrose  and  Bernard  and  Dickens 
and  Stowe,  dedicated  their  talents  to  the  cause 
of  slaves  and  orphans  and  the  neglected  poor. 
As  time  went  on,  it  was  found  that  events  fully 
justified  Christ's  emphasis  of  the  poor  as  the  real 
architects  of  progress.  From  the  poor  have  come 
the  great  leaders,  from  Moses  to  Lincoln.  From 
the  poor  have  come  the  great  poets,  from  David 
with  his  shepherd's  crook,  to  Burns  with  his 
plough.  From  the  poor  have  come  the  great  in- 
ventors, like  Watt  and  Stevenson.  In  peasants' 


80          Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

cottages,  too,  have  been  reared  great  artists,  like 
Correggio,  Corot,  and  Millet ;  scientists,  too,  like 
Newton  and  Ferguson,  who  have  been  trained  in 
the  school  of  adversity.  When  Christ  set  a  guar- 
dian angel  beside  each  sleeping  babe,  waved  the 
golden  rule  above  slave  market  and  palace  alike, 
all  society  felt  a  new  impulse,  and  a  race  that 
hitherto  had  crept  slowly  forward  climbed  into 
the  golden  chariot  with  Christ  and  swept  swiftly 
on  toward  those  heights  where  wisdom  and  hap- 
piness do  dwell. 

Consider  the  supremacy  of  Christ's  view  of  God. 
No  problem  is  so  fascinating  as  the  religious  prob- 
lem. Grown  gray  and  seventy,  all  men,  atheists, 
agnostics,  and  Christians  alike,  develop  a  passion 
for  theology.  As  men  enter  into  the  shadows  of 
life's  evening,  gold,  bonds,  books,  honors,  lose  all 
charm.  Looking  forward,  they  desire  to  die  good 
friends  with  God.  Pathetic,  indeed,  the  theories 
men  then  develop  about  the  unseen  being.  Some, 
impressed  by  Nature's  laws,  make  God  to  be  an 
infinite  Watt  guiding  his  world  engine.  Some, 
impressed  by  the  order  and  unity  of  Nature,  think 
of  Him  as  an  infinite  Newton  or  Cuvier.  Some, 
marvelling  at  the  steadiness  of  the  stars  and  the 
richness  of  the  sheaves,  think  of  Him  as  an  infinite 
householder,  who  feeds  star  lamps  by  night  and 


Of  Genius  in  tbe  Realm  of  Intellect         81 

ripens  the  harvests  by  day.  Interesting,  too,  the 
ways  in  which  men  discover  this  divine  being. 
Recently  a  great  scientist  has  told  us  how  he 
passed  from  extreme  agnosticism  to  simple  faith 
in  God.  With  his  microscope  he  found  a  minute 
form  of  amoeba  in  a  jar  of  water,  and  dipping  a 
tiny  wire  in  sugar  he  thrust  it  close  to  the  animal- 
cule. At  the  end  of  a  week  the  little  creature  fol- 
lowed the  food.  Then  the  scientist  began  to 
deceive  the  amoeba  with  a  wire  that  had  no  sugar. 
Once,  twice,  ten  times  it  was  disappointed,  but 
after  that  it  heeded  not  the  deceit.  This  tiny  bit 
of  protoplasm  had  perception,  contrast,  memory, 
and  will,  and  the  scientist  developed  the  theory 
that  behind  the  physical  body  stands  a  spiritual 
body  that  builds  it.  In  his  laboratory  this  scien- 
tist hung  tuning  forks  with  electrical  tests  for 
measuring  musical  notes  that  the  ear  could  not 
catch.  But  one  day  finding  his  instruments  meas- 
uring the  musical  scale  when  he  could  detect  no 
sound,  he  went  into  the  country  and  then  found 
that  everything  in  Nature  was  vibrating  the  musi- 
cal scale,  and  leaped  to  the  conclusion  that  all  the 
planets  and  suns  are  vibrating  the  thought  of  a 
world  mind,  who  is  the  author  of  a  world  beauty, 
a  world  music,  and  a  world  truth. 

Many  and  rude  are  man's  conceptions  of  God. 


82  Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

A  theological  museum  reminds  us  of  an  anthrop- 
ological museum  —  full  of  stone  implements,  axes, 
arrow-heads,  rude  war  clubs,  strange  canoes, 
the  drums  of  the  medicine  man,  the  charms  of 
astrologers.  But  over  against  these  conceptions, 
rude  and  harsh  and  embryonic,  stands  Christ's 
thought  of  God,  clothed  with  matchless  simplicity 
and  beauty.  He  affirmed  that  God  was  man's 
Father,  who  had  made  His  earthly  child  in  His  own 
image ;  that  man  is  a  miniature  of  the  Divine 
Being ;  that  what  reason  and  judgment  and  mem- 
ory and  love  in  the  small  are  in  man,  that  they  are 
in  the  large,  in  the  great  God.  In  that  statement 
He  grounded  the  possibility  of  communion  with 
God  as  the  soul's  Father.  If  music  in  the  hearer 
answers  to  music  in  the  singer,  melody  is  possible. 
If  the  telephone  in  one  house  corresponds  to  the 
instrument  in  another,  conversation  is  possible. 
And  because  man's  mind  is  keyed  to  God's  mind, 
the  great  truths  of  conscience  and  beauty,  the  new 
heart,  the  heavenly  mansions,  the  immortal  life, 
the  largest  truths  in  the  universe  slip  smoothly 
and  easily  into  the  mind  of  the  waif,  the  Hotten- 
tot, the  slave.  Moving  on  in  His  thought,  Christ 
revealed  God  as  the  world's  burden  bearer,  full  of 
an  exquisite  kindness  and  sympathy ;  that  what 
He  was  through  three  and  thirty  years,  God  was 


Of  Genius  in  tbe  Realm  of  Intellect          83 

through  all  the  ages ;  that  what  he  was  to  publi- 
can and  sinner  in  Bethlehem,  God  was  for  all 
maimed  and  wrecked  hearts  in  all  worlds ;  that  no 
human  tear  falls  but  God  feels  it,  that  no  blow 
smites  the  suffering  heart  but  that  God  shrinks 
and  suffers,  that  with  wistful  longing  He  follows 
the  publican  and  the  prodigal,  waiting  for  the  hour 
when  He  may  recover  the  youth  to  his  integrity 
or  lead  the  man  grown  gray  in  sin  back  to  his 
Father's  house. 

But  chiefly  is  Christ's  intellectual  supremacy 
indicated  by  His  view  of  immortality.  In  the  last 
hour,  looking  upward,  man  gazes  not  toward  an 
empty  throne.  He  flings  his  imploring  arm  not 
into  vacancy,  nor  does  he  sob  out  his  confessions 
into  a  heaven  that  is  deaf  and  dumb.  Silent 
indeed/  seem  the  heavens,  but  that  silence  is  elo- 
quent with  testimony.  History  has  preserved  for 
us  an  incident  of  the  friendship  of  Heine  and 
Hegel.  One  evening  after  dinner  the  poet  and 
the  philosopher  paced  to  and  fro  in  the  garden, 
"under  the  majestical  roof  fretted  with  golden 
fire."  Musing  upon  the  good  and  great  who  had 
gone  before,  the  poet  pointed  to  a  sparkling  planet 
as  a  possible  point  for  the  assembling  of  earth's 
master  spirits.  When  Heine  answered  with  a 
contemptuous  sneer,  Hegel  said  :  "  Has  Socrates 


84          Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example 

then  never  had  his  wrong  righted?  Has  justice 
never  been  done  for  Judas  and  Jesus  ?  "  With 
dim  eyes  Hegel  turned  to  the  poet  and  exclaimed, 
"So  you  want  a  reward  because  you  have  sup- 
ported your  sick  mother  and  have  not  poisoned 
your  brother?"  The  biting  reply  of  the  great 
German  reminds  us  how  for  a  purpose  God  with- 
holds the  visions  of  immortal  happiness  from  the 
children  of  virtue  and  love,  even  as  He  withholds 
the  vision  of  pain  and  disaster  from  the  children 
of  vice  and  crime.  Here  and  now,  character  is 
the  all-important  thing.  God  will  not  bribe  man 
into  virtue  by  using  the  vision  of  heaven  as  a  per- 
petual sweetmeat.  He  will  not  frighten  man  out 
of  vice  by  the  vision  of  the  rod  of  a  painful 
schoolmaster. 

But  this  silence  in  the  interests  of  the  preser- 
vation of  character,  taken  in  connection  with  a 
thousand  dim  hints  and  suggestions,  is  eloquent 
with  testimony  regarding  the  immortal  life.  Im- 
mortality does  not  depend  upon  the  immediate 
possession  of  it  now,  but  it  does  rest  upon  the 
hope  of  it  being  begotten  in  the  soul  beforehand. 
By  a  thousand  whisperings  Nature  intimates  im- 
mortality for  man.  Here  no  universal  appetite 
is  without  its  satisfaction.  For  the  eye  there  is 
light,  for  the  ear  there  is  melody,  for  the  mind 


Of  Genius  in  the  Realm  of  Intellect          85 

there  is  boundless  truth,  for  the  heart  there  are 
rich  friendships.  In  a  world  where  the  fin  of 
fish  finds  its  complement  in  the  water,  where  the 
wing  of  bird  finds  its  answer  in  the  soft  air, 
man  with  hunger  and  thirst  for  an  infinite  beauty 
and  truth  looks  longingly  toward  immortal  shores. 
What  possibilities  for  the  immortal  life  all  un- 
touched !  What  treasure  in  the  soul  all  uncov- 
ered !  Professor  Max  Muller  conversed  in  fifteen 
languages.  Addison  Alexander  was  a  critical 
scholar  in  twenty-five  different  tongues.  La 
Place  could  carry  before  his  mind  problems  in 
the  higher  mathematics  filling  whole  chapters  of 
a  book.  Beethoven  saw  sounds  moving  toward 
him  in  columns,  and  carried  whole  symphonies  in 
his  memory.  Schooled  here  through  the  neces- 
sity of  the  body,  only  here  and  there  is  an  indi- 
vidual who  can  give  himself  to  the  culture  of 
the  mind.  But  that  which  is  unique  in  the 
greatest  of  earth's  children  seems  to  be  latent  in 
all  mankind.  Here  what  inequalities !  Often 
good  men  eat  crusts ;  bad  men  wear  purple  and 
live  in  kings'  palaces.  Here  the  reformer  and 
patriot  starve  in  a  garret ;  the  traitor  and  dema- 
jogue  ascend  to  the  throne.  If  in  this  life  only 
we  have  hope,  justice  is  threatened  and  the 
whole  structure  of  civilization  trembles.  Is  na- 


86    Jesus  Christ  the  Supreme  Example  of  Genius 

ture   dumb  ?     Will   not    God   break   the   silence  ? 
Then  nature  speaks  and  God  gives  voice. 

Condemned  to  death  for  conscience'  sake, 
Socrates  speaks:  "Wherefore,  O  judges,  be  of 
good  cheer  about  death !  Know  of  a  certainty 
that  no  evil  can  happen  to  a  good  man,  either 
in  life  or  after.  He  and  his  are  not  neglected 
by  the  gods,  nor  has  my  own  approaching  end 
happened  by  mere  chance.  But  I  see  clearly  that 
to  die  and  be  released  was  far  better  for  me. 
Therefore  the  oracle  gave  no  sign.  The  hour  of 
departure  is  at  hand,  and  we  go  our  ways,  I  to 
die,  and  you  to  live.  Which  is  better  God  only 
knows."  This  noblest  death  scene  in  history,  save 
one,  tells  us  God  has  broken  the  silence.  But  if 
Socrates  died  like  a  philosopher,  whispering  hope 
to  our  own  hearts,  Jesus  Christ,  dying,  spake  in 
full,  round  tones,  bringing  life  and  immortality 
to  light.  "  It  is  the  glory  of  God  to  conceal  a 
matter,"  said  Job  :  it  is  also  His  glory  to  reveal 
the  mystery.  Like  a  great  bell  of  hope,  mellow, 
ceaseless,  glorious  in  its  music,  the  words  of  the 
soul's  Saviour  ring  across  the  world  :  "  Because 
I  live,  ye  shall  live  also."  "  In  my  father's  house 
are  many  mansions.  If  it  were  not  so  I  would 
have  told  you." 


IV 


Efje  &upremacg  of  Cjjrtst  in  tjje  l&ealm  of  Itical 
Character 


"  But  Thee,  but  Thee,  O  sovereign  Seer  of  time, 
But  Thee,  O  poets'  Poet,  Wisdom's  Tongue, 
But  Thee,  O  man's  best  Man,  O  love's  best  Love, 
O  perfect  life  in  perfect  labor  writ, 
O  all  men's  Comrade,  Servant,  King,  or  Priest,  — 
What  if  or  yet,  what  mole,  what  flaw,  what  lapse, 
What  least  defect  or  shadow  of  defect, 
What  rumor,  tattled  by  an  enemy, 
Of  inference  loose,  what  lack  of  grace 
Even  in  torture's  grasp,  or  sleep's,  or  death's,  — 
Oh,  what  amiss  may  I  forgive  in  Thee, 
Jesus,  good  Paragon,  thou  Crystal  Christ  ?  " 

—  SIDNEY  LANIER'S  "The  Crystal." 


88 


IV 


THE  SUPREMACY  OF  CHRIST  IN  THE  REALM  OF 
IDEAL  CHARACTER 

Names  are  epitomes  of  life.  Names  as  monuments  of 
cities  and  civilizations.  A  unique  candidate  for  universal 
fame.  Christ  the  supreme  master  of  the  science  of  right 
living.  Obedience  native  to  Him.  An  exception  to  the  law 
of  environment.  Nazareth  a  strange  home  for  the  develop- 
ment of  purity.  Christ  contradicts  the  laws  of  culture, 
property,  and  position.  Unique  as  to  the  shortness  of  His 
earthly  career.  Leaves  no  developed  system  or  written 
philosophy.  His  force  purely  personal.  The  living  Christ. 
Unique  as  an  ideal  for  man  and  woman.  The  sexes  repre- 
sent contradictory  qualities.  The  appeal  of  Christ's  character 
and  career  to  men  of  all  classes  and  conditions.  The  Son  of 
Man.  Christ  a  revelation  of  all  the  soul's  boundless  capacities 
and  supreme  destiny. 

TN  calling  the  roll  of  the  great  ones  of  earth, 
•*-  and  in  attempting  to  forecast  the  place  of 
Christ  among  the  immortals,  Paul  asserts  his 
belief  that  Christ  will  sit  upon  the  world's 
throne,  and  "  His  name  be  above  every  name." 
Matthew  also  emphasizes  "the  name"  of  Christ, 
asserting  that  that  name  was  based  upon  the 
fact  that  He  was  to  save  His  people  from  their 

89 


90  The  Supremacy  of  Christ 

sins  and  from  sinning.  The  old  prophet,  too, 
capitalized  Christ's  "  name "  as  Wonderful,  the 
Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God,  the  everlasting 
Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace.  Be  the  reasons 
what  they  may,  the  sages  and  seers  have  been 
strangely  fascinated  with  the  study  of  Christ's 
"name,"  and  their  interest  is  not  without  its 
philosophy  and  explanation. 

Names  stand  for  physical  traits  and  moral 
qualities.  They  are  epitomes  of  life.  They  con- 
dense character  and  career.  Granaries  store  up 
material  harvests,  and  names  garner  soul  treas- 
ures. With  wisps  of  straw  husbandmen  bind 
wheat  into  bundles,  with  strings  gardeners  tie 
flowers  into  nosegays ;  and  a  name  is  a  thought 
band  binding  together  heart  qualities.  Without 
names  civilization  and  cities  would  be  impossible. 
Individuals  would  be  lost  in  the  multitude  as 
drops  in  the  river.  For  by  names  men  make 
contracts,  form  partnerships,  assume  commercial 
obligations,  take  office,  enter  into  marriage.  By 
names  penalties  are  visited  upon  the  guilty  and 
honors  bestowed  upon  the  worthy.  Unnamed, 
the  multitudes  would  be  indistinguishable. 

The  ambition  to  make  a  name  is  praiseworthy, 
because  it  involves  storing  the  name  with  endur- 
ing integrities.  Cromwell,  Hampden,  and  Pym 


In  the  Realm  of  Ideal  Character  91 

filled  their  names  full  with  heroic  thoughts  and 
deeds,  and  the  generations  go  to  these  "  name  " 
granaries  for  soul  food  and  nourishment.  Some 
names  endure  through  centuries,  as  sacks  filled 
with  wheat  stand  upright.  Others  perish  out  of 
recollection,  for  empty  sacks  collapse.  When 
death  pricks  an  empty  name,  it  vanishes  like  a 
bubble. 

The  ideal  plan  asks  the  home  to  defer  naming 
the  babe  until  the  growing  boy  reveals  the  real 
genius  of  his  life.  But  now  and  then  the  bap- 
tismal name  prophesies  character  and  career. 
Witness  Lincoln,  called  at  the  font  Abraham, 
that  means  the  liberator.  Witness  Whittier, 
named  John  Greenleaf,  apostle  of  love  and  the 
olive  branch.  Witness  Florence  Nightingale, 
for  untold  multitudes  in  prisons  and  hospitals, 
like  the  sweet  bird  that  sings  songs  in  the 
night.  With  exquisite  precision  Bunyan  fitted 
the  name  to  the  character  —  Mr.  Obstinate,  Mr. 
Pliable,  Mr.  Worldly  Wiseman,  old  Mr.  Honesty, 
and  Mr.  Greatheart.  The  seer  tells  us  in  life's 
new  morning  God  will  give  each  "a  new  name" 
that  expresses  not  what  men  think  we  are  nor 
what  we  judge  ourselves  to  be,  but  what  God 
knows  is  the  very  essence  of  our  innermost  life. 
Happy,  then,  those  whose  "new  name"  shall 


92  The  Supremacy  of  Christ 

glow    and    sparkle    like    a    diamond    upon    the 
brow. 

When  the  man  dies,  all  life's  scaffolding  falls 
away.  Then  only  the  name  epitomizing  the 
life  remains.  For  it  stirs  our  wonder  that 
names  alone  survive  the  shock  of  time.  Cities 
become  heaps  and  empires  ruins,  bronze  tablets 
and  marble  monuments  are  ploughed  down  in 
dust,  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world  perish,  but 
not  the  names  of  their  creators.  The  marble  of 
the  Acropolis  wastes,  but  Phidias'  name  abides. 
God  has  ordained  the  names  of  great  men  as 
the  enduring  monuments  of  civilization.  And 
thinking  of  the  great  ones  of  earth,  Paul  asserts 
that  such  is  to  be  the  eminence  of  Christ's  name 
that  all  those  qualities  that  are  distributed  among 
many  and  confer  renown  upon  each  shall  be 
swept  in  and  compacted  together  into  this  one 
illustrious  name  that  is  to  be  above  all  others,  as 
the  tree  is  above  the  grass  it  shelters,  as  the 
mountain  is  above  the  low-browed  hills  resting  on 
its  sides,  as  the  star  is  above  the  clouds  it  illu- 
mines. O,  name  of  names,  fulfilling  this  prophecy  ! 
Most  wondrous,  too,  that  the  prophetic  eye,  search- 
ing out  the  candidate  for  universal  fame,  should 
turn  to  a  captive  nation,  to  a  degraded  province, 
to  a  village  into  which  had  run  all  the  slime  of 


In  the  Realm  of  Ideal  Character  93 

creation,  to  an  obscure  peasant's  cottage,  and 
therefrom  select  an  unschooled  youth,  born  into 
poverty,  bound  to  coarsest  labor,  doomed  to 
thirty  years  of  obscurity,  scorned  by  rulers, 
despised  by  priests,  mobbed  by  common  people, 
by  all  counted  traitorous  to  his  country  and  reli- 
gion, in  death  stigmatized  by  a  method  of  exe- 
cution reserved  for  slaves  and  convicts. 

Our  wonder  grows  apace  when  we  remember 
that  he  wrote  no  book,  no  poem,  no  drama, 
no  philosophy ;  invented  no  tool  or  instrument ; 
fashioned  no  law  or  institution ;  discovered  no 
medicine  or  remedy ;  outlined  no  philosophy  of 
mind  or  body;  contributed  nothing  to  geology 
or  astronomy,  but  stood  at  the  end  of  his  brief 
career,  doomed  and  deserted,  solitary  and  silent, 
utterly  helpless,  fronting  a  shameless  trial  and 
a  pitiless  execution.  In  that  hour  none  so  poor 
as  to  do  him  reverence.  And  yet  could  some 
magician  have  touched  men's  eyes,  they  would 
have  seen  that  no  power  in  heaven  and  no  force 
on  earth  for  majesty  and  productiveness  could 
equal  or  match  this  crowned  sufferer  whose  name 
was  to  be  "Wonderful."  The  ages  have  come 
and  gone ;  let  us  hasten  to  confess  that  the 
carpenter's  son  hath  lifted  the  gates  of  empires 
off  their  hinges  and  turned  the  stream  of  the 


94  The  Supremacy  of  Christ 

centuries  out  of  their  channels.  His  spirit  hath 
leavened  all  literature;  He  has  made  laws  just, 
governments  humane,  manners  gentle,  even  cold 
marble  warm ;  He  refined  art  by  new  and  divine 
themes,  shaped  those  cathedrals  called  "frozen 
prayers,"  led  scientists  to  dedicate  their  books 
and  discoveries  to  Him,  and  so  glorified  an 
instrument  of  torture  as  that  the  very  queen 
among  beautiful  women  seeks  to  enhance  her 
loveliness  by  hanging  His  cross  about  her  neck, 
while  new  inventions  and  institutions  seem  but 
letters  in  His  storied  speech.  To-day  His  birth- 
day alone  is  celebrated  by  all  the  nations.  All 
peoples  and  tribes  claim  Him.  He  seems 
supremely  great.  None  hath  arisen  to  dispute 
His  throne.  Plato  divides  honors  with  Aristotle, 
Bacon  walks  arm  in  arm  with  Newton,  Napoleon 
does  not  monopolize  the  admiration  of  soldiers. 
In  poetry,  music,  art,  and  practical  life,  universal 
supremacy  is  unknown.  But  Jesus  Christ  is  so 
opulent  in  His  gifts,  so  transcendent  in  His 
words  and  works,  so  unique  in  His  life  and 
death,  that  He  receives  universal  honors.  His 
name  eclipses  other  names  as  the  noonday  sun 
obliterates  by  very  excess  of  light. 

The    influence    of    Christ's   name    in    securing 
the   upward  movement  of  society  hath  sufficient 


In  the  Realm  of  Ideal  Character  95 

reasons.  Persons,  not  abstractions,  civilize  and 
exalt.  Not  his  reflections  upon  truth  and 
beauty,  but  Socrates  himself,  embodying  these, 
transformed  his  Athenian  disciples.  Not  his 
theses  on  the  church  door  of  Wittenberg,  but 
Luther's  flaming  heart  redeemed  Germany.  Not 
Puritanism  as  a  theory,  but  Puritanism  incar- 
nated in  Cromwell  and  Hampden  transformed 
England.  Not  a  written  declaration,  but  that 
declaration  organized  into  Washington,  Adams, 
and  Jefferson  wrought  out  our  independence. 
Indeed,  the  measure  of  Christianity's  power  is 
the  prophets  and  heroes  it  has  had,  whose  divine 
qualities  have  been  stored  up  for  those  who 
shall  come  after!  And  for  the  inspiration  of 
mankind,  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  globes  within 
itself  every  idea  and  ideal  of  man ;  all  gentle- 
ness and  justice;  all  wisdom  and  all  mercy;  all 
sympathy  and  tenderness ;  all  courage  and  self- 
sacrifice  and  purity ;  above  all  love,  tropical,  im- 
measurable, inimitable.  As  the  flashing  orb  in 
the  sky  has  lifted  the  tides  in  forward  flow,  so  the 
wonderful  name  lifts  society  upward  in  character 
and  culture  and  will  yet  lift  man  back  to  his 
Father's  side. 

Consider  the  supremacy  of   this  name   in   the 
matter  of  right  living !     The  most  difficult  of  all 


96  The  Supremacy  of  Christ 

the  arts  is  that  of  living  justly  and  charitably  with 
one's  fellows  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  No  other 
task  lays  such  burdens  upon  men.  Men  under- 
stand and  control  acids,  alkalies,  fire,  wind,  and 
water.  Man  tames  wild  beasts  and  makes  them 
burden  bearers.  He  carries  himself  easily  through 
Africa's  jungles  and  Alaska's  icefields.  He 
changes  poisons  into  magic  balms  and  medicines. 
Indeed,  the  time  seems  rapidly  approaching  when 
he  will  hold  the  secret  of  every  force  in  land  and 
sea  and  sky.  But  having  made  himself  master  in 
every  other  realm,  man  breaks  down  utterly  when 
it  comes  to  living  justly  and  smoothly  with  his 
fellow-men.  The  birds  at  one  bound  master  their 
career  and  attain  happiness.  The  beasts  browsing 
in  the  clover  fields  have  but  to  eat,  stoop  at  the 
cool  spring,  lie  down  in  shade,  and  the  end  of  their 
creation  is  reached.  But  the  animals  carry  slender 
equipments,  and  instincts  guide  them.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  master  an  alphabet  of  three  letters  nor 
even  one  of  twenty-six.  But  man's  alphabetic 
faculties  are  two  score  and  more,  making  all  con- 
ceivable combinations  possible.  Man  carries  all 
seasons  in  his  brain  —  spring  and  summer,  autumn 
and  winter.  How  many  men  are  in  one  man  : 
to-day  reason,  to-morrow  passion  ;  to-day  sympathy, 
to-morrow  repugnance ;  to-day  charity,  to-morrow 


In  the  Realm  of  Ideal  Character  97 

vengeance ;  in  a  single  day  the  mind  runs  through 
many  and  oppugnant  moods.  And  then  what 
rivalries;  what  ambitions  and  struggles  for  pre- 
cedence ;  what  collisions  of  interests  ;  what  flexi- 
bility in  the  tongue,  at  once  a  club  for  anger,  a 
poison  for  envy,  a  knife  for  hatred.  No  whip 
hissing  and  writhing  about  the  flank  of  horse 
carrying  such  stinging  pain  as  the  tongue  of  man  ! 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  once  said,  "  If  our  life  might 
be  as  the  life  of  a  craft  on  a  sequestered  lake, 
which  rude  winds  never  disturb,  right  living  would 
be  easy  ;  but  to  carry  our  slender  bark  amid  cur- 
rents and  violent  winds  and  constant  whirls  and 
rocks  and  bars,  and  amid  fleets  sailing  in  every 
direction,  that  is  not  easy."  It  is  just  here  that 
the  supremacy  of  Jesus  Christ  is  manifest.  To  do 
right  was  as  natural  for  Him  as  to  breathe.  Obedi- 
ence to  law  was  native  to  Him.  He  approached 
the  laws  of  life  as  one  "to  the  manner  born." 
Midst  hordes  of  men,  midst  all  the  distemperatures 
of  life,  He  maintained  His  peerless  perfection. 

The  supremacy  of  His  name  further  appears 
when  we  consider  the  law  of  life  is,  that  man's 
early  surroundings  stand  to  his  riper  character  in 
the  relation  of  cause  to  effect.  Everywhere  life 
exhibits  this  principle.  Hothouse  plants  have  no 
power  of  resistance.  For  beams  and  ship  timber 


98  The  Supremacy  of  Christ 

we  go  to  the  wind-stormed  oaks  on  unsheltered 
hills.  Man  finds  no  fruits  midst  arctic  icebergs, 
yet  in  the  tropics  he  beholds  a  wilderness  of  fruits 
and  flowers.  But  this  law  of  climate  and  sur- 
roundings holds  also  in  the  world  of  morals  and 
intellect.  The  poor  savage  in  Africa,  denied  the 
knowledge  of  the  history  of  mankind  and  the  arts, 
useful  and  beautiful,  sits  in  his  soul  dungeon  and 
starves  to  death.  But  some  Ruskin  or  Webster, 
planted  and  nourished  in  the  rich  soil  and  gentle 
climate  of  universal  knowledge,  grows  large  and 
strong.  Oliver  Twist's  brief  sojourn  in  Fagin's 
den  left  permanent  impressions  of  evil.  Jean 
Valjean  could  never  cast  off  the  influence  of  his 
career  as  a  convict.  Napoleon  to  the  last  hour  of 
his  life  upon  the  rocks  of  St.  Helena  bore  himself 
as  emperor.  But  this  law  of  environment  hath 
supreme  contradiction  in  Jesus  Christ.  He  entered 
life  in  a  most  tumultuous  age,  when  all  society 
groaned  with  profligacy.  This  condition  of  general 
corruption  seemed  specially  aggravated  in  Pales- 
tine. Galilee  was  particularly  renowned  for  disso- 
luteness. Nazareth,  the  headquarters  of  the 
Roman  legions,  maelstrom-like  sucked  into  itself 
parasites  and  abandoned  persons  until  it  became  a 
proverb,  "No  good  thing  can  come  out  of  Naza- 
reth." All  the  best  Jewish  element  fled  from  the 


In  the  Realm  of  Ideal  Character  99 

town  as  from  a  pestilence.  Yet  midst  these  sur- 
roundings He  passed  His  childhood  and  youth. 
There  He  grew,  the  fairest  flower  that  ever 
bloomed,  seeming  like  the  lily  in  the  slough  to 
draw  delicate  whiteness  out  of  the  very  filth. 
Some  may  urge  that  this  young  carpenter  repre- 
sents a  reaction  against  the  desperate  wickedness 
of  His  age  and  time.  But  no  Gladstone  ever  lived 
to  manhood  midst  the  foul  environment  of  White- 
chapel,  and  then  in  protest  against  vileness, 
ignorance,  and  coarseness  reacted  into  sudden 
refinement  and  sensitiveness  of  soul.  When  pure 
white  snow  springs  from  July's  dusty  street  as  a 
protest  against  fierce  heat ;  when  sparkling  water 
gushes  up  in  solid  column  from  a  filthy  pool  as  a 
protest  against  sewers,  then;"  and  not  until  then, 
will  reason  permit  us  to  believe  a  man  can  put  off 
the  influences  of  childhood  as  he  puts  off  his  coat 
or  outer  garment. 

Consider  how  Jesus  Christ  contradicts  all  the 
laws  of  culture,  wealth,  and  family.  His  was  an 
untrained  youth.  No  teacher  or  schools  fed  the 
flame  of  His  illustrious  genius.  He  was  denied 
access  to  the  riches  of  Grecian  literature  and 
the  Roman  law.  Yet,  Himself  untaught,  He  dis- 
covered childhood,  emphasized  the  importance  of 
early  training,  set  forth  the  true  principles  of 


100  The  Supremacy  of  Christ 

education,  and  left  behind  a  germinal  teaching 
that  developed  into  the  schools  and  colleges  of  our 
day.  Nor  is  there  Bonn  or  Heidelberg,  Oxford  or 
Cambridge,  Harvard  or  Yale  that  was  not  founded 
by  His  followers,  for  His  disciples  have  always 
held  it  to  be  their  peculiar  mission  to  foster  higher 
education.  Equally  strange  His  relation  to  in- 
dustry and  wealth.  He  was  always  poor.  For 
thirty  years  He  pushed  the  plane  for  daily  bread. 
He  knew  nothing  of  money  and  its  increase 
through  handling  large  treasures.  Yet  He  so 
grasped  the  principles  of  wealth  and  property,  so 
related  them  to  industry,  thrift,  integrity,  and 
universal  civilization,  that  in  proportion  as  nations 
have  accepted  His  principles  of  life  are  they  rich 
and  prosperous,  ranking  first  among  the  states. 
He  who  is  perhaps  the  leading  political  economist 
of  our  age  has  just  said:  "All  political  economy 
is  being  rewritten  under  the  influence  of  Jesus 
Christ."  Unique  also  His  relation  to  the  family. 
He  had  no  home ;  the  sacred  relations  of  husband 
and  father  He  never  sustained.  Yet  He  blessed 
children,  and  from  His  arms  they  returned  with 
double  worth  to  their  mother's  bosom.  Homeless 
Himself,  He  founded  the  Christian  home ;  en- 
throned love  as  law,  distributed  duties,  and  toward 
His  ideal  home  all  the  human  family  is  journeying. 


In  tbe  Realm  of  Ideal  Character  101 

The  shortness  of  His  earthly  career,  too,  gives  us 
surprise.  But  few  men  have  died  in  youth  and 
left  behind  great  distinction,  and  these  excelled 
only  in  those  natures  asking  for  enthusiasm,  physi- 
cal energy,  hope  and  ambition.  Time  soon  reveals 
the  faults  of  rashness,  unripe  judgment,  and  over- 
confidence.  The  philosophers,  scientists,  and 
epoch-making  minds  have  alike  asked  for  time 
and  old  age  in  which  to  revise  and  remodel  their 
systems ;  but  this  divine  carpenter,  whose  teach- 
ings still  guide  the  wisest  thinkers,  died  at  three 
and  thirty. 

Consider  that  He  is  the  one  universal  man.  If 
He  was  an  ideal  Jew,  He  was  also  our  one  true 
cosmopolitan.  In  Him  all  the  peculiar  Jewish 
characteristics  had  fullest  expression  and  ideal 
embodiment.  Therefore,  the  people  tried  to  take 
Him  by  force  and  make  Him  king.  The  Jew 
is  a  unique  type,  and  is  everywhere  recognized. 
Yet  when  Christ's  character  was  held  up  before 
the  polished  Grecian  people,  they  forgot  their 
hatred  of  the  Jew  in  their  admiration  of  Him 
who  seemed  the  ideal  Greek.  Similarly  the  war- 
like Roman  and  the  liberty-loving  Teuton  each 
saw  in  Christ  their  own  national  type,  their  ideal 
citizen.  The  sun  above  cannot  be  parcelled  out. 
Nobody's  star,  but  everybody's ;  nobody's  air,  but 


102  The  Supremacy  of  Christ 

everybody's ;  nobody's  sky,  but  everybody's,  and 
one  greater  possession  was  universal  —  the  man 
Christ  who  globed  in  Himself  all  the  qualities  of 
all  the  races.  Stranger  still  His  reconciliation  of 
the  ideal  qualities  of  manhood  and  womanhood. 
We  need  not  analyze  these  qualities.  Enough 
that  sex  is  dyed  in  the  wool ;  that  God's  colors 
do  not  wash  out.  With  manhood  we  associate 
strength,  endurance,  courage,  and  moral  energy ; 
while  to  woman  we  ascribe  purity,  beauty,  delicacy 
of  thought,  fidelity,  and  self-sacrifice.  The  diffi- 
culty of  combining  these  qualities  in  one  character 
is  seen  in  the  reproachful  phrase,  "a  womanish 
man,"  or  "a  mannish  woman."  Yet  in  Him  the 
two  hemispheres  are  fully  orbed.  He  is  the  ideal 
for  every  man  of  oak  and  rock.  He  is  also  the 
ideal  for  every  woman  representing  vine  and 
flower. 

To  these  unique  elements  of  character  let 
us  add  His  emphasis  of  the  personal  element. 
Other  men,  as  Plato  or  Bacon,  have  rested  all 
upon  their  ideas.  They  have  committed  their 
fame  to  their  philosophical  system.  But  Jesus 
Christ  wrote  no  line,  no  book,  no  chapter.  He 
spake  and  His  words  perished  with  the  vibrations 
of  the  air.  He  left  the  records  and  teachings 
not  to  scholars,  but  to  ignorant  fishermen.  His 


In  the  Realm  of  Ideal  Character  103 

method  was  personal.  His  test  was  allegiance 
to  Himself;  His  plan  the  interweaving  of  men's 
lives  with  His.  Think  of  Socrates  assembling  the 
people  of  Athens  and  saying,  "Come  unto  me,  and 
I  will  give  you  rest."  Imagine  Plato,  when  in 
some  favored  day  he  had  lifted  his  disciples  by  the 
enthusiasm  of  his  discourse,  saying,  "  I  am  the  light 
of  the  world,  he  that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk 
in  darkness."  But  expressions  like  these  epito- 
mize Christ's  words  and  methods.  Surely  in 
mission  and  character  this  man's  name  is  indeed 
wonderful. 

The  supremacy  of  this  name  is  not  by  chance. 
From  nothing,  nothing  comes.  Homage  is  al- 
ways a  conquest.  Christ's  name  is  supreme,  but 
whence  are  the  hidings  of  His  power?  One  teach- 
ing alone  was  enough  to  make  His  name  "above 
every  name."  He  made  the  infinite  God  under- 
standable. Man  learns  only  by  object  lessons. 
As  the  house  reveals  the  architect,  as  the  poem 
reveals  the  poet,  as  the  tool  reveals  the  inventor's 
mind,  as  the  argument  reveals  the  orator,  so  the 
universe  is  "an  enormous  mind  and  will  rushing 
into  shape."  The  world  is  a  great  picture  gallery 
for  getting  the  genius  of  the  great  God  before 
man's  mind.  Each  divine  attribute  is  incarnated. 
God's  power  is  exhibited  in  wind  and  wave  and 


104  The  Supremacy  of  Christ 

earthquake;  His  goodness  in  fruits  and  berries 
and  grains ;  His  beauty  is  in  flower  and  land- 
scape and  face  of  little  child ;  His  wisdom  is  seen 
in  the  brain,  that  can  at  the  same  moment  taste 
the  delicious  orange,  be  conscious  of  the  warmth 
of  the  fire,  regret  the  ringing  of  the  doorbell, 
recall  the  forgotten  engagement,  follow  the  sor- 
rows of  Hamlet.  God's  providence  is  seen  in  the 
strategic  events  of  history.  The  material  world 
exhibits  the  infinite  mind,  but  what  of  God's 
heart  ?  Is  He  a  great  "  bundle  of  thunder- 
storms "  ?  Is  He  only  the  engineer  of  this  vast 
complicated  mechanism  ?  Is  His  throne  ice,  His 
heart  marble,  His  arm  iron  ?  Are  His  laws  man- 
traps ?  Does  His  justice  send  penalties  like  hur- 
tling cannon  balls  along  the  trackway  of  sinful 
men  ?  Is  He  that  cold,  vague,  far-off  one,  who 
keeps  those  belts  called  "laws"  around  the  sun- 
wheels,  and  cares  only  that  the  wheels  turn  and 
the  mill  grinds  ?  Does  He  love  the  world  house, 
and  tend  its  floor,  and  oil  its  lamp,  and  fill  its 
root  cellar,  but  neglect  His  children  "crying  in 
the  night,  crying  for  the  light,  with  no  language 
but  a  cry  "  ? 

To  all  those  questions  there  is  an  answer.  If 
the  material  world  incarnates  God's  mind,  Jesus 
Christ  incarnates  God's  heart.  With  the  hand 


In  the  Realm  of  Ideal  Character  105 

we  feel  the  orange  over.  The  eye  is  a  longer 
hand,  feeling  over  the  distant  mountain.  Jesus 
Christ  compresses  God  so  that  reason  can  feel 
over  His  infinitude.  He  folds  Himself  together 
until  He  lies  within  the  diameter  and  scope 
of  man's  mind.  Philosophers  have  taught  and 
theologians  still  teach  that  God  does  not  and  can- 
not suffer ;  that  He  sits  on  the  world  throne  and 
coolly  beholds  the  thrall  of  mankind,  its  wasting 
march  through  weakness  and  temptations  and 
trouble ;  all  sorrows  sweeping  through  the  world 
like  equinoctial  storms ;  the  mistakes,  tears,  and 
weltering  misery  that  attend  man  as  he  wades 
knee-deep  through  sorrows  on  his  way  up  from 
animalism  to  God's  throne.  But  the  three  and 
thirty  years  of  Christ's  life  exhibit  the  heart  of 
God  as  full  and  deep  as  the  ocean  pulsing  on 
every  shore  through  all  time  "every  inflection  of 
feeling  which  springs  from  purity  and  rectitude 
and  love."  His  is  indeed  the  "mighty,  majestic 
heart,"  effulging  sympathy  for  all  weakness  and 
ignorance  and  sinfulness.  His  is  a  parent's  emo- 
tion in  behalf  of  those  He  loves.  Would  you 
know  what  is  the  heart  of  God  ?  Behold  its  in- 
flections in  Him  whose  name  is  Wonderful.  Those 
who  groan  and  travail  in  poverty  may  see  how 
God  would  have  them  bear  themselves  and  con- 


106  The  Supremacy  of  Omst 

quer  in  that  He  rose  above  the  besetraents  of 
poverty,  and  fed  the  flame  of  His  genius,  and 
in  the  face  of  adversity  fulfilled  His  career.  Men 
toiling  in  an  unrequited  way  should  consider  His 
patience  in  obscurity  and  limitations,  while  fully 
conscious  of  His  luminous  power  and  superiority 
and  His  destiny  to  be  the  light  of  the  world. 
Behold  His  encouragement  for  those  thralled 
with  weakness.  Behold  His  exquisite  sympathy. 
What  Jesus  Christ  was  toward  needy  and  sinful 
men  for  thirty  and  three  years  —  the  great  God  is 
through  all  time.  Behold  His  gentleness  !  All 
sordid  men,  defiled  within  and  without,  crowded 
about  Him,  and  the  nobility  and  sweetness  of  His 
nature  cleansed  and  transformed  them.  Then 
first  perhaps  in  all  ages  truth  and  purity  were  so 
represented  that  by  "an  irresistible  enthusiasm 
the  corruptest  and  wickedest  rushed  toward  Him, 
and  depravity  bowed  itself  down  and  wept  in  the 
presence  of  divinity." 

The  supremacy  of  His  name  is  also  manifest  in 
His  unique  view  of  the  worth  of  each  life.  Strip- 
ping off  the  outer  husks  of  manhood  Christ  looked 
at  the  naked  soul.  Brooding  over  the  divine  some- 
thing in  each  He  was  stirred  with  intensest  enthu- 
siasm. As  the  mother  hangs  over  the  cradle  with 
pulsing  love,  so  He  lingered  by  prodigal  and  out- 


In  the  Realm  of  Ideal  Character  107 

» 

cast,  by  publican  and  brigand.  His  hot  tears  fell 
over  Jerusalem.  The  boy  in  South  Africa  shied  a 
diamond  at  a  stranger,  but  the  traveller  picked  up 
the  gem  with  beating  heart.  So  Christ  valued 
what  other  teachers  had  despised.  Man  was 
rough  without,  but  there  were  flashing  crystals 
within.  So  He  kindled  and  fed  in  each  the  undy- 
ing certainty  that  we  are  allied  to  God  in  such  a 
way  as  that  we  do  not  die  when  we  die.  To  each 
youth  come  great  epochs,  luminous  hours.  Then 
the  soul  seems  to  be  on  the  verge  of  something. 
A  rift  opens  in  the  sky.  Voices  fall  and  keep 
falling.  Man  and  God  ensphere.  The  human 
and  the  divine  glide  into  each  other,  as  the  day 
glides  into  the  dawn.  This  makes  man  as  great  a 
mystery  as  God,  only  smaller.  It  was  as  if  He  had 
said  to  each  man  :  "  Thou  art  a  bundle  of  latent 
germs.  Save  thyself  by  an  outlook  upon  the  com- 
ing harvest.  Your  life  is  hinted  but  hidden.  It 
flashes  now  only  in  sparks.  Some  day  it  will  be 
full-orbed.  Cherish  this  faith  as  the  mariner  in  a 
dark  and  stormy  night  cherishes  the  distant  light 
and  harbor."  Soon  all  society  felt  this  divine  im- 
pulse. Because  man  had  this  priceless  worth  he 
must  be  redeemed  back  to  his  divineness.  There- 
fore teachers,  missionaries,  reformers,  set  forth  to 
scale  mountains,  brave  seas,  penetrate  forests, 


108  The  Supremacy  of  Qjrist 

i 

conquer  the  arctics,  endure  the  tropics,  and  hav- 
ing freed  slaves  from  bodily  chains,  passed  on  to 
include  freedom  from  mind  and  heart.  Surely, 
this  name  is  above  every  name  in  that  He  gave  us 
undying  enthusiasm  for  humanity. 

To  the  question,  Can  the  wrong-doer  ever  be 
happy  again  and  at  rest  with  God  and  conscience  ? 
Jesus  Christ  makes  unique  reply.  What  a  drama 
is  human  life.  The  cradle  rocks  innocence.  Child- 
hood means  games  and  freedom  from  care.  Boy- 
hood brings  rivalries  and  conflicts  in  schoolroom 
and  playground.  Daily  temptations  and  sins  go 
up  in  battle  array  against  the  boy's  integrity. 
Soon  the  youth  enters  store  or  office.  Now  the 
fight  thickens.  He  sees  the  strong  take  the 
sidewalk  while  the  weak  go  to  the  wall.  He 
finds  more  good  than  evil,  but  the  little  evil 
vexes  his  life.  He  finds  cotton  in  silk,  water  in 
his  milk,  chicory  in  his  coffee,  adulteration  in 
his  food,  slag  in  his  coal,  water  in  his  railway 
stock,  nothing  in  his  silver  mine.  Becoming 
wiser,  the  youth  searches  out  causes.  He  beholds 
iniquities  organized  into  laws,  strength  oppressing 
weakness,  and  an  array  of  parasites  living  on  the 
industries.  Becoming  sordid,  his  motto  now  is, 
"Every  man  for  himself,  and  the  devil  take  the 
hindmost."  Where  once  he  prayed  the  Lord's 


In  the  Realm  of  Ideal  Character  109 

Prayer,  now  he  ends  up  each  day  with,  "The 
fittest  survive."  The  years  hurrying  on  bring 
honor  and  prosperity. 

At  length  a  crisis  appears.  Adversity  wastes 
his  treasure.  Death  enters  his  home.  Enemies 
blacken  his  good  name.  Material  things  seem  as 
apart  from  character  as  the  upright  pole  around 
which  farmers  stack  their  wheat  is  apart  from 
the  golden  sheaves.  Often  in  the  night  he  looks 
wistfully  back  to  the  old  childhood  days.  Then 
in  a  gentle  glow  he  lay  listening  to  the  rain 
pattering  on  the  low  roof.  Old  memories  bring  a 
half  sob  to  the  strong  man's  throat.  A  luminous 
hour  comes.  Then  he  realizes  that  conscience, 
God's  ambassador,  through  all  the  years  never  by 
day  or  night  has  taken  eyes  off  him.  Then 
Plato's  words  come  back  :  "  Can  God  forgive  ?  Is 
it  right  for  Him  to  do  so  ? "  Man  looks  out  wist- 
fully upon  the  abiding  things  as  a  man  caught 
in  the  current  of  some  mighty  river  and  swept 
helplessly  on,  sees  lights  on  the  shores,  and 
sends  out  a  cry  for  help.  Will  culture  help  this 
heart-hunger  ?  Not  until  painting  a  pump  with- 
out avails  for  sweetening  the  bitter  water  within. 
Will  embellishments  bring  peace  ?  Not  until  a 
discordant  organ  is  tuned  by  decorating  the  pipes. 
Then  the  man  cries  out,  "  Where  shall  help  be 


110  The  Supremacy  of  Christ 

found  ? "  And  the  answer  is,  "  Like  as  a  father 
pitieth  his  children."  But  father  and  mother  carry 
the  child's  sorrows,  bear  his  sins,  heal  his  hurts, 
receive  his  stripes.  "And  what  are  parents," 
saith  Jesus  Christ,  "but  interpreters  of  God,  ever 
seeking  after  His  prodigal  children  ? "  God  is 
hurt  by  Peter's  sin.  Saul  has  broken  his  father's 
heart,  and  we  are  Sauls  whom  Christ  would 
transform  to  Pauls.  This  is  the  divine  solution 
for  Peter  and  Paul  and  Jean  Valjean  and  Donatello. 
It  is  the  key  to  the  drama  of  man's  soul.  It  is 
the  essence  of  the  uniqueness  of  Christ. 


V 


Ejje  Simplidtg  anti  ikeatitl)  of  Cjjrtet  as  a 
icUlicjious  Eeacjjer 


"  He,  who  from  the  Father  forth  was  sent, 
Came  the  true  Light,  light  to  our  hearts  to  bring ; 
The  Word  of  God,  —  the  telling  of  His  thought ; 
The  Light  of  God,  —  the  making  visible ; 
The  far-transcending  glory  brought 
In  human  form  with  man  to  dwell ; 
The  dazzling  gone  —  the  power  not  less 
To  show,  irradiate,  and  bless ; 
The  gathering  of  the  primal  rays  divine, 
Informing  Chaos  to  a  pure  sunshine!" 

—  GEORGE  MACDONALD. 


112 


V 


THE  SIMPLICITY  AND   BREADTH   OF  CHRIST  AS  A 
RELIGIOUS  TEACHER 

History  a  story  of  imperfect  tools,  customs,  and  institu- 
tions. An  injured  world.  Long  time  stands  between  the 
forked  stick  and  the  steam  plough.  Religious  institutions  ask 
time  for  development.  The  complexity  of  the  philosophers 
and  the  simplicity  of  Christ  as  a  religious  teacher.  Simplicity 
as  the  test  of  strength.  Simplicity  as  the  test  of  beauty  and 
the  arts.  Complexity  a  sign  of  weakness.  The  simplicity  of 
Christ's  idea  of  God.  Unveils  God  not  as  fear,  or  fate,  or 
force,  but  as  law,  guiding  providence,  and  love.  The  simplest 
explanation  in  religion  the  truest.  Christ's  view  of  man. 
Made  in  God's  image.  Therefore  the  full  power  of  the  Cre- 
ator pledged  to  assist  his  growth  and  destiny.  Man's  growth 
dependent  not  upon  what  he  is,  but  upon  what  God  is. 
What  man  shall  be  when  time  and  the  divine  resources  have 
wrought  their  full  power  upon  him.  Simplicity  of  Christ's 
view  of  ethics.  Grounds  man's  responsibility  in  his  moral 
constitution.  Separates  duty  from  creeds  and  churches. 
Right  and  wrong  organized  into  the  laws  of  nature  and  the 
constitution  of  man.  Simplicity  of  Christ's  view  of  the 
Church.  Its  basis  personal  allegiance  to  himself  and  the  uni- 
versal principles  for  which  Christ  stood.  Disciples  not  bound 
together  from  without  by  creeds,  but  drawn  together  from 
within  by  love.  The  simplicity  of  Christ's  use  of  symbols. 
Religion  divine,  but  its  ceremonies  human.  Christ's  empha- 
sis of  liberty,  toleration,  and  charity.  The  coming  church. 
I  113 


1  14      The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 


excavators  who  have  uncovered  for  us 
the  streets  and  houses  of  Pompeii  have 
assembled  in  a  museum  all  the  bronzes,  marbles, 
ivories,  mosaics  they  have  discovered.  Unfortu- 
nately, not  one  single  object  has  escaped  some 
form  of  injury.  The  winged  Mercury  stands 
forth  with  broken  arms  and  legs.  The  white 
forehead  of  Venus  holds  a  black  stain.  All  the 
precious  tablets  are  cracked,  while  the  rolls 
found  in  Pliny's  father's  tomb  hold  writings  faded 
and  dim.  The  universal  damage  that  has  befallen 
the  products  of  man's  arts  and  industries  leads 
the  mind  to  expect  that  man's  customs  and  insti- 
tutions will  suffer  some  grievous  accidents.  And 
experience  wrings  from  us  the  confession,  that 
imperfection  does  attend  all  that  man  achieves. 
Through  some  error,  man's  train  leaves  the  tr^ck, 
his  ship  strikes  the  rock,  his  bridge  breaks,  his 
wealth  takes  wings,  his  health  gives  way.  Even 
the  wisest  book  holds  some  ignorance,  the  greatest 
oration  includes  some  error,  the  sweetest  music 
holds  some  discord  ;  nor  is  there  any  nation  whose 
constitution  needs  no  amendment.  These  errors 
that  have  accompanied  man  as  builder  and  writer, 
as  scientist  and  inventor,  prepare  us  for  the  errors 
that  have  accompanied  him  as  a  teacher  of  morals. 
If  the  baron  and  lawyer  of  the  fifteenth  century 


As  a  Religious  Teacher  115 

toast  over  the  hot  fire  the  feet  of  the  witness  in 
order  to  elicit  testimony,  we  may  expect  that  the 
priests  and  people  of  that  dark  day  will  rush 
together  in  crowds  to  behold  the  burning  of  the 
witch  or  the  heretic.  If,  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, the  king  and  the  prince  misused  their  wealth 
and  became  drunkards,  profligates,  and  criminals, 
we  must  expect  that  in  the  reaction  from  these 
excesses  good  men  will  exalt  poverty,  live  in  caves, 
wear  rags,  and  eat  crusts  of  mouldy  bread. 

If  the  education  of  that  far-off  time  must  needs 
wait  long  for  the  schoolhouse,  if  the  field  must 
wait  long  for  the  steam  plough  and  the  reaper,  if 
love  and  marriage  must  wait  for  beautiful  homes, 
it  seems  natural  to  expect  that  religion  must  wait 
for  the  waning  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  and 
the  waxing  of  wisdom  and  character.  Fascinating, 
indeed,  is  the  museum  filled  with  stone  hammers, 
the  war  clubs,  the  spears  and  crude  implements 
of  man's  early  industry  and  life.  But  what  a 
museum  would  be  that  stored  with  the  symbols 
of  man's  religious  progress  —  the  astrologer's 
chart,  the  diviner's  rod,  the  map  with  the  flight 
of  birds,  the  hazel  rod  for  detecting  hidden  veins 
of  water,  the  charms  for  warding  off  danger,  the 
secrets  of  medicine  men,  going  on  at  last  to  the 
Te  Deum,  holy  aspirations,  the  songs,  with  all 


116       The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

noble  arguments  toward  worship.  The  sweet 
simplicity  of  the  religion  of  love  to-day  makes 
yesterday's  religion,  with  its  cumbrous  forms  and 
grievous  burdens,  well-nigh  intolerable. 

Travellers  in  India  tell  us  that  when  pagan 
mothers  are  led  into  the  light  of  education  and 
Christianity,  they  often  weep  bitterly,  remember- 
ing the  sweet  babes  they  cast  into  the  Ganges  in 
obedience  to  the  dictates  of  superstition.  Thus, 
in  the  light  of  to-day's  toleration  and  charity,  the 
sufferings  of  Huss  and  Cranmer,  of  Savonarola 
and  Luther,  speak  eloquently  of  the  bigotry  and 
intolerance  of  the  former  days.  The  dawn,  with 
its  sunshine,  lends  a  deeper  darkness  to  the  mid- 
night with  its  owls  and  bats,  its  deep  black 
gloom. 

How  refreshing,  therefore,  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  complexity  and  cumbersomeness  of  the 
philosophers  and  the  simplicity  of  Christ  as  a 
religious  teacher.  He  rises  like  a  white  shaft, 
simple,  yet  sublime.  In  every  realm  simplicity 
is  the  proof  of  greatness.  Any  increase  in  the 
number  of  wheels  for  engine,  press,  or  loom  les- 
sens its  utility.  Each  inventor  counts  a  gain  in 
simplicity  as  a  gain  in  power.  All  the  immortals, 
Moses,  Paul,  and  Socrates,  are  men  plain  to  the 
verge  of  harshness.  History  knows  no  preten- 


As  a  Religious  Teacber  117 

tious  hero.  All  who  are  "  to  the  manner  born  " 
carry  with  them  a  certain  air  of  quiet  repose,  and 
their  simplicity  is  the  finest  ornament  of  their 
greatness.  Nature  achieves  all  her  strength  and 
beauty  by  the  avoidance  of  complexity.  The 
strength  of  the  bee's  cell  is  in  the  use  of  the 
fewest  lines  and  the  least  wax.  How  simple 
the  lily's  whiteness,  shaped  by  a  single  curve! 
The  giant  of  the  forest  has  its  strength  through 
the  trunk  springing  a  hundred  feet  into  the  air 
without  a  branch,  crowned  with  a  slight  tuft  of 
green.  All  the  great  artists  understand  that  the 
line  of  beauty  is  the  line  of  economy.  Michael 
Angelo  once  defined  perfection  as  "the  purgation 
of  superfluities."  How  chaste  the  lines  of  the 
Venus  de  Milo.  In  the  golden  age  of  art  each 
Parthenon  was  a  very  simple  temple.  But  when 
the  fine  arts  entered  upon  their  decline,  the  Vene- 
tians began  to  ornament  their  statues.  Each 
Apollo  wore  a  gilt  crown ;  the  marble  cheek  of 
Aphrodite  was  stained  red ;  the  legs  of  the  Dying 
Gladiator  flamed  with  a  bright  flesh  color;  soon 
all  beauty  fled  away  before  this  complexity. 

In  their  garb  also  the  Greek  women  understood 
that  simplicity  was  beauty.  Outdoor  life  and 
perfect  health  lent  each  maiden  an  arm  and 
brow  of  marble  and  a  cheek  of  purest  rose.  With 


118       Tie  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

instinctive  grace  the  girl  draped  herself  in  one 
color,  white,  in  a  robe  falling  to  the  ground  in 
one  straight  line,  a  line  with  one  flower  at 
the  throat  —  a  red  rose.  But  when  art  had 
declined  in  the  fifteenth  century  the  ladies  of 
the  French  court  forsook  simplicity  and  asked 
Jacquard  to  weave  in  each  robe  of  silk  a  full 
hundred  roses.  If  in  Pericles'  day  the  simple 
gown  was  an  incident  for  setting  forth  the  beauty 
of  the  Greek  maiden,  in  the  age  of  Voltaire  all 
had  changed,  and  the  young  girl  became  only  an 
incident  for  exhibiting  a  mass  of  tulle  and  silk. 
In  literature  also  all  the  great  poems,  dramas, 
and  orations  are  simple.  The  song,  "  Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  is  influential  because  it  has  as 
few  notes  as  the  song  of  the  nightingale.  Gray's 
"  Elegy "  influences  the  multitude  profoundly 
because  it  is  the  biography  of  a  single  emotion. 
The  mind  wanders  in  a  complex  philosophy  like 
a  child  in  a  dense  wood.  The  very  simplicity  of 
Newton's  principle  becomes  an  argument  for  its 
truth.  An  English  professor  in  Oxford  Univer- 
sity was  quoted  as  saying  that  Longfellow  had 
a  hundred  readers  in  England  where  Browning 
had  one.  The  distinguished  lecturer  explained 
this  fact  by  saying  that  the  American  poet  seems 
like  a  single  pasture-grown  oak,  while  the  Eng- 


<4s  a  Religious  Teacher  119 

lishman   was   a   tangled    forest,    where    the   very 
richness   of  the  vines  hid  all  the  trees. 

In  the  world,  therefore,  in  which  complexity 
injures  the  drama  and  the  picture,  where  man  ad- 
mires the  single  star  more  than  the  diffused  light 
of  the  Milky  Way,  admires  Hamlet  or  Lear  more 
than  Hegel's  philosophy  in  a  score  of  volumes  ; 
in  a  world  where  complexity  injures  the  oration 
and  the  song,  and  simplicity  increases  the  value  of 
the  tool  and  the  mechanism,  we  naturally  expect 
that  the  world's  greatest  religious  teacher  will 
present  a  very  simple  system  of  thought.  It  must 
not  be  like  the  maze  in  Hampton  Court,  where 
one  searches  long  and  in  vain  for  some  way  out 
of  the  bewildering  growth,  but  rather  a  plain  way, 
along  which  each  little  child  may  run  heavenward 
with  happy  feet.  For,  be  it  instantly  confessed 
that  if  the  mariner  needs  a  pilot  to  guide  him  in 
his  wanderings  o'er  the  sea ;  that  if  each  Stanley 
needs  some  native  to  conduct  him  through  the 
trackless  forest ;  if  each  caravan  journeying  across 
the  Arabian  sands  needs  some  leader  skilful  in 
journeying  across  the  pathless  desert,  so  the  soul, 
moving  upward  toward  the  heavenly  heights, 
needs  to  journey  forward  under  the  guidance  of 
some  one  who  has  dwelt  long  midst  the  solemn 
beauty  of  the  heavenly  mountains,  and  therefore 


120       The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

knows  where  is  the  path  to  each  cool  spring,  and 
what  way  will  avoid  the  most  of  danger  and 
secure  the  most  of  safety,  happiness,  and  peace. 
In  words  that  a  child  could  understand  Christ 
portrayed  the  simple  majesty  and  beauty  of  God. 
No  definition  was  given,  no  philosophy  was 
fashioned,  no  articulated  dogma  wrought  out. 
He  simply  unveiled  before  man's  admiring  vision 
the  Infinite  One,  Whose  solicitude  for  man  was 
such  that  none  was  too  great  or  too  small  to 
be  loved  ;  Who  was  so  deeply  interested  in  the 
progress  of  His  earthly  child  that  He  could  not 
bear  to  overlook  a  single  hour  in  the  upward 
career.  History  tells  us  of  a  traveller  who,  visit- 
ing Athens  for  a  single  day,  went  at  once  to 
Phidias  to  ask  him  for  the  secret  of  his  art.  To 
whom  the  artist  replied,  that  while  one  day  was 
too  short  to  unfold  sculpture  as  a  system,  it  was 
long  enough  for  looking  upon  a  single  statue 
that  embodied  the  beautiful.  So  he  unveiled 
his  Minerva  before  the  eye  of  the  enraptured 
Spartan,  who  went  away  to  deduce  from  that 
lustrous  face  all  the  abstract  principles  of  beauty. 
Thus  Christ  seems  to  say  that,  while  man's 
three  score  years  and  ten  are  too  brief  for  a 
study  of  the  philosophy  of  religion,  they  are 
long  enough  for  the  exhibition  of  that  matchless 


As  a  Religious  Teacher  121 

One,  who  sits  upon  the  world's  throne  and  counts 
man  His  beloved  child.  It  has  been  said  that 
all  the  beloved  ones  of  history  stand  forth  in 
some  alluring  atmosphere  of  heroism,  truth,  and 
beauty,  and  without  any  defilement  of  meanness 
or  sin.  Thus,  in  simple  speech,  Christ  caused 
the  great  God  to  stand  forth  clothed  with  all 
these  alluring  qualities  that  fascinate  the  intel- 
lect, that  enrapture  and  satisfy  the  heart ;  por- 
trayed God  as  one  whose  garments  trailed  in 
the  sunset,  who  whispered  upon  "the  colossal 
harp  of  nature,"  whose  frame  was  made  of  worlds, 
whose  strings  were  rays  of  shining  light ;  a  God 
for  whom  the  universe  itself  was  one  vast  temple, 
where  storms  and  winds  and  cataracts,  with 
songs  of  birds  and  men,  combined  in  one  vast 
hymn  of  adoration  and  delight. 

And  this  simple  story  of  God's  eternal  father- 
hood and  His  unfailing  love,  falls  upon  the  old 
views  that  portrayed  God  as  fear,  vengeance ; 
as  a  black  shadow ;  as  an  iron  fate.  Christ 
smote  them  as  the  sun  smites  the  snowdrifts 
into  running  brooks  for  the  pastures,  as  the  sun 
smites  the  April  fields  and  makes  them  bloom. 
In  ancient  times  the  Greek  general  offered  his 
god  in  exchange  for  victory  as  many  goats  as 
there  were  enemies  dead  upon  the  battle-field. 


122       The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

And  Solomon,  also,  in  dedicating  his  temple, 
killed  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  sheep, 
never  dreaming  in  his  ignorance  that  herds  and 
flocks  were  God's  already,  and  that  He  would 
be  better  pleased  with  the  flocks  alive  and  feed- 
ing upon  the  happy  hillsides  than  with  their 
dead  carcasses  lying  in  the  slaughter  pen.  In 
ages  when  such  views  of  God  prevailed  the 
only  way  to  establish  an  idea  was  to  cut  off  the 
heads  of  all  who  held  to  any  other  system.  In 
such  an  era  the  world  seems  much  like  a  sink- 
ing ship,  to  which  God  draws  near  with  a  small 
lifeboat  to  save  now  and  then  a  drowning  wretch. 
Thus  a  thousand  errors  and  fallacies  entered 
into  and  defiled  the  simple  truths  of  Christ.  In 
the  Middle  Ages  the  Crusaders  returned  from 
their  holy  wars  laden  with  spoil.  The  knight 
fastened  a  great  piece  of  carved  furniture  to 
the  back  of  his  horse,  or  collected  in  a  huge  sack 
strange  objects  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  wife 
and  child.  Soon  the  army  became  impotent  for 
battle  as  soldiers,  and  appeared  under  the  aspect 
of  travelling  pedlers. 

Thus  the  scholastics  of  the  Middle  Ages  moved 
across  the  years  like  these  ancient  soldiers,  and 
swept  together  all  the  curiosities  of  superstition 
and  ignorance  until  the  theologians  of  that  time 


As  a  Religious  Teacher  123 

seem  like  philosophical  beggars  and  pedlers,  laden 
with  all  the  rubbish  of  mental  ragpickers.  The 
simplicity  of  Christ  was  lost.  His  teachings  be- 
came sadly  belittered.  The  scholastics  took  away 
Christ's  beautiful  garments  and  replaced  them  with 
rags.  Loyola  exhibited  Him  as  one  who  handled 
flames  in  which  to  burn  heretics.  Torquemada 
portrayed  Him  as  a  smith  who  forged  fetters, 
instead  of  one  who  came  to  set  the  prisoners 
free.  Michael  Angelo,  in  his  "  Last  Judgment," 
exhibited  Christ  as  a  sinewy  athlete  who  matched 
His  gianthood  against  feeble  sinners  and  swept 
them  into  the  fiery  furnace,  mid  the  plaudits  of 
admiring  saints.  Forgetting  that  each  thirsty 
pilgrim  may  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely,  a 
few  Augustinians  degraded  Christ  to  the  level  of 
one  who  condemned  many  to  hell  for  His  mere 
good  pleasure.  In  Luther's  day  scholasticism  had 
so  corrupted  men's  minds  from  the  simplicity  of 
Christ  that  the  great  German  thought  many  had 
mistaken  the  devil  for  the  great  God. 

It  is  a  truism  with  scientists  that  the  simplest 
explanation  is  the  truest.  Doubtless,  clouds  and 
darkness  will  always  be  about  God's  throne,  nor 
will  the  mind  ever  solve  all  mysteries.  Never- 
theless, in  contrast  with  other  religious  systems 
Christ's  teachings  seem  simple  as  a  sunbeam. 


124       The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

When  a  philosopher  declares  that  each  seed  and 
leaf,  each  babe  and  sage,  fall  back  into  the  clouds 
or  rise  into  the  clouds  to  return  to  the  "all  in 
all"  God  —  we  have  pantheism.  When  a  writer 
declares  that  atoms  falling  through  a  little  space 
could  hardly  come  together  into  those  forms  of 
beauty  called  an  apple  or  a  lark  or  a  sage,  but  if 
these  atoms  fall  through  much  space  they  could 
take  on  the  forms  of  beauty  found  in  this  great 
world  —  we  have  atheistic  materialism. 

When  the  excavator  in  Ephesus  uncovers  a 
tomb  and  finds  the  bust  of  an  emperor  he  rea- 
sons from  the  statue  to  the  sculptor  who  carved 
it.  But  when  a  philosopher  beholds  the  move- 
ment of  the  seed  toward  the  tree,  the  grain 
toward  the  harvest,  the  adaptation  of  the  eye 
toward  the  light,  yet  denies  that  these  thoughts 
imply  a  world  thinker  and  affirms  that  if  such 
a  thinker  exists,  he  cannot  be  known  —  then  we 
have  agnosticism.  When  a  writer  declares  that 
man's  destiny  is  fully  determined  by  his  heredity 
and  environment,  that  the  blind  force  of  nature 
or  the  iron  will  of  God  dooms  man  to  eternal 
happiness  or  everlasting  woe,  then  we  have  fatal- 
ism. But  when  God  is  unveiled  as  a  Father  whose 
thought  is  the  gulf  stream  of  history,  whose  wis- 
dom is  equal  to  each  emergency  in  life,  who 


As  a  Religious  Teacher  125 

counts  man  as  His  child,  who  makes  darkness 
not  less  than  light,  suffering  as  well  as  prosper- 
ity, defeat  as  well  as  triumph,  lead  on  to  ultimate 
victory  —  then  we  have  the  simplicity  of  Christ. 
In  that  faith  Tennyson  whispered  to  his  lifelong 
friend :  "  There  is  One  who  guides  our  steps  and 
our  individuality  survives  the  grave.  In  this  let 
us  live  and  die."  In  that  simple  faith  also  of 
Christ  lived  Pascal  and  Bunyan.  In  that  simple 
faith  lived  Channing  and  Lincoln  and  Living- 
stone. That  simple  faith  has  made  slaves  free, 
has  lent  a  new  sweetness  to  music,  has  given  a 
new  beauty  to  art,  has  furnished  a  new  motive 
to  all  culture.  In  that  simple  faith  the  falling 
statesman,  the  dying  mother,  the  sweet  child, 
have  all  fallen  asleep  in  perfect  peace. 

Having  portrayed  as  an  Infinite  Father  that 
God  who  holds  the  earth  in  His  hand  and  rolls 
the  sun  like  a  golden  ball  along  the  pavement  of 
the  morning,  Christ  made  God's  Fatherhood  to 
cause  mail  to  step  into  the  scene,  the  child  of 
a  noble  and  thrilling  destiny.  Had  nature,  with 
its  forces  of  the  summers  and  the  winters,  stood 
behind  man  and  been  his  sponsor,  a  speedy  ca- 
tastrophe might  have  been  expected,  and  man's 
future  would  have  been  full  of  blackness  and 
fear.  But  because  the  infinite  mind  that  stands 


126       The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

back  of  the  vast  earthly  scene  is  made  man's 
sponsor,  the  full  power  of  this  creator  stands 
pledged  to  share  in  all  the  glorious  achievements 
of  His  Father.  As  the  sculptor  who  holds  in  his 
mind  a  dream  of  ideal  beauty  can  take  a  square 
block  of  marble  and  shape  it  into  the  lines  of 
the  lustrous  ideal  held  in  his  mind,  so  there  is 
rich  hope  for  man  —  not  because  of  what  he  is, 
but  because  of  what  God  is  in  His  wealth  of 
mind  and  heart,  that  are  prophecies  of  what  man 
shall  be  when  time  and  the  divine  resources  have 
accomplished  their  purpose  upon  the  human  soul. 
Plato  tells  us  the  ancient  Greeks  were  deeply 
impressed  with  the  beauty  of  forests  and  foun- 
tains and  deep  seas.  Indeed,  the  earthly  scene 
was  so  rich  as  to  make  it  seem  incredible  that  the 
thrilling  of  the  harvests  and  forests  would  have 
been  prepared  for  man  alone.  The  rich  banquet 
spread  by  the  summers  and  the  winters  seemed  to 
ask  for  heavenly  guests  to  sit  down  to  drink  at 
the  table  spread  with  these  viands  fit  for  the  gods. 
So  men  explained  this  palace  beautiful  named 
earth,  by  peopling  the  leafy  woods  and  the  cool 
streams  with  fauns  and  nymphs  and  graces. 
And  in  similar  vein  Christ  saw  a  thrilling  beauty 
and  power  streaming  forth  from  God's  throne 
and  surrounding  man  with  a  rich  and  stimulat- 


As  a  Religious  Teacher  127 

ing  atmosphere.  With  words  of  matchless  elo- 
quence He  called  about  Him  the  multitudes,  the 
children  of  poverty  and  ignorance,  the  children 
of  sickness  and  suffering,  the  publican  and  the 
prodigal,  and  lifted  above  all  alike  a  banner  in- 
scribed, not  with  those  words  called  wisdom  or 
riches  or  birth,  but  with  the  words,  "  Made  in 
the  image  of  God."  He  reminded  man  that  am- 
bassadors who  represented  a  royal  court  should 
wear  a  garb  befitting  the  greatness  of  the  mon- 
arch whose  power  they  represented ;  that  those 
in  whose  veins  ran  kingly  blood  should  aspire 
to  kingly  garb,  refuse  to  wear  rags  or  eat  crusts 
of  bread.  With  the  thrilling  pathos  of  His  own 
life  and  death,  Christ  exhibited  man  as  the  child 
of  supreme  genius,  because  He  is  the  child  of 
God  and  carries  eternity  and  immortality  in  His 
heart. 

It  is  also  a  part  of  the  simplicity  of  Christ  as 
a  religious  teacher  that  He  grounded  duty  and 
responsibility  in  man's  moral  constitution  and  sep- 
arated them  entirely  from  creeds  and  churches. 
The  only  duties  He  taught  are  the  duties  found 
in  man's  nature  and  constitution.  It  is  the  mis- 
fortune of  our  age  that  to-day  men  are  urged 
toward  right  because  they  have  taken  unto  them- 
selves the  vows  of  the  church.  But  Christ  called 


128       The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

men  unto  a  life  of  whiteness  and  beauty  because 
all  bore  the  image  of  God.  The  divine  stamp 
man  carried  put  him  under  a  solemn  pledge  to 
avoid  the  stamp  of  demonhood.  The  motive  of 
duty  was  not  fidelity  to  a  church,  but  fidelity 
to  what  man  is  fundamentally  and  constitution- 
ally, through  his  original  endowment  of  mind 
and  heart.  The  time  has  come  when  men  may 
think  to  escape  the  obligations  of  a  Christian 
life  by  refusing  to  pledge  themselves  to  a  church. 
But  Christ  affirmed  that  man  was  pledged  to  a 
life  of  integrity  by  virtue  of  what  he  was  in  birth 
gifts.  No  man  can  escape  responsibility  by  stay- 
ing outside  of  a  church.  No  man  can  increase 
his  responsibilities  by  entering  into  a  church. 
Duty  antedates  the  church,  and  right  precedes 
the  Bible. 

The  laws  of  right  and  wrong  were  organized 
into  man's  mind  and  body.  Finding  them  there, 
Moses  wrote  them  down  for  society's  help.  The 
Ten  Commandments  did  not  begin  with  the  Bible  ; 
they  began  with  our  father  man.  The  mind  ex- 
isted long  before  the  mental  philosophy.  The 
stars  existed  long  before  Newton  wrote  his  "  Prin- 
cipia."  This  great  continent  lay  behind  the  setting 
sun  long  before  Columbus  first  thought  of  a  west- 
ern passage  to  India.  And  every  principle  of  the 


As  a  Religious  Teacher  129 

Christian  life  existed  prior  to  the  church  and  its 
statements.  Duty  is  binding  upon  a  man,  there- 
fore, not  at  all  because  he  is  a  church  member. 
He  who  has  never  set  foot  inside  of  a  church  and 
never  recognized  a  single  principle  of  the  Bible,  is 
bound  to  the  same  law  of  Christian  living  as  is  the 
man  who,  each  Sunday,  renews  his  fidelity.  Nor 
does  any  Paul  or  John  add  one  iota  to  his  duty  by 
recognizing  his  debt  to  God  and  to  the  commu- 
nity. The  laws  of  brain  and  nerve  and  blood  are 
fundamental  and  constitutional,  and  whether  man 
denies  the  laws  or  whether  he  accepts  them,  they 
work  invariably  and  remorselessly.  Christian  liv- 
ing, therefore,  is  binding  upon  man  because  of  the 
nature  of  things  and  the  facts  in  the  case.  Fire 
burns,  cold  chills,  rocks  bruise  —  not  because  man 
says  they  may,  but  because  that  is  their  nature. 
And  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  binding  on  men, 
not  because  they  stand  up  in  church  and  accept  it, 
but  because  prior  to  the  cradle  God  organized 
right  into  the  nature  of  man  and  things. 

To  His  sublimely  simple  statement  regarding 
God  and  Man,  Christ  added  a  conception  of  the 
church  that  is  beautiful.  Without  dividing  the 
multitude  into  church  and  non-church  members, 
He  called  the  men  about  Him,  and  reminding 
them  that  they  were  the  children  of  the  same 


130       The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

cradle  and  moving  toward  a  common  grave,  He 
bade  them  all  alike  swear  fidelity  to  conscience. 
Passing  by  all  creedal  tests  of  belief,  He  asked  for 
only  one  test  — personal  allegiance  to  Himself  and 
the  universal  principles  for  which  He  stood.  Soon 
the  little  group  of  disciples  included  all  tempera- 
ments, all  shades  of  belief,  —  those  who  repre- 
sented much  virtue  and  those  who  represented 
little ;  those  who  had  much  faith  and  those  who  had 
little.  But  His  love  united  them,  just  as  the  roof 
of  some  splendid  mansion  unites  a  hundred  rooms 
of  different  size  and  shape  ;  just  as  the  one  blue 
sky  overarches  and  unites  mountains  and  pastures 
and  vineyards.  In  those  days  there  was  only  one 
church,  and  all  the  disciples  were  one,  just  as  the 
many  boughs  are  one  in  the  same  tree  ;  just  as  the 
planets  are  one  in  the  same  starry  system.  The 
germ,  indeed,  of  every  possible  denomination  was 
there  —  John,  the  seer  and  mystic;  Peter,  the 
man  of  feeling  and  impulse  ;  Paul,  the  philosopher 
and  the  theologian ;  James,  who  believed  in  a 
religion  of  deeds,  and  thought  a  dollar's  worth  of 
flour  would  do  more  for  a  hungry  orphan  than  a 
day  of  praying.  In  their  oneness  of  life  the  dis- 
ciples were  not  so  much  driven  together  by  a 
creedal  necessity  from  without,  as  drawn  together 
by  a  love  of  their  Master  from  within.  Now  there 


As  a  Religious  Teacher  131 

are  140  denominations  in  our  country.  The 
churches  threaten  to  destroy  the  church. 

Our  judicial  courts  recognize  but  one  or  two  or 
three  grounds  for  divorce  between  husband  and 
wife;  but  the  church  has  found  140  grounds  for 
divorcing  its  disciples  one  from  another.  If  every 
one  of  these  140  differences  were  rooted  out,  every 
important  principle  would  still  remain  —  love  to 
God  and  man,  and  love  to  Him  who  is  the  soul's 
Master  and  Saviour.  To-day  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  teachers  of  our  evangelical  churches 
have  expressed  the  belief  that  the  time  is  drawing 
near  when  there  is  to  be  a  return  to  the  simplicity 
of  Christ's  church,  when  again  all  shall  be  one. 
These  scholars  give  it  as  their  judgment  that 
Christ  never  intended  that  there  should  be  a 
church  roll  of  church  membership,  or  a  denomina- 
tion. Christ's  thought  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
that  men  should  stand  up  and  by  a  simple  verbal 
statement  imagine  that  they  had  fulfilled  all  right- 
eousness. Christ's  idea  of  the  church  was  that  men 
should  band  themselves  together,  not  as  church 
members  but  as  men  and  women  made  in  the 
image  of  God,  and  bend  their  associated  energies 
to  the  promotion  of  virtue  and  knowledge  and  the 
defeat  of  ignorance,  of  vice,  of  superstition  and  sin. 

Out    of    His    beautiful    ideas    of    the    church 


132       The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

grew  Christ's  beautiful  use  of  symbols.  Looking 
toward  the  constitution,  the  state  asks  the  citizen 
through  the  ballot  to  swear  fidelity  to  the  laws  of 
the  land.  Looking  toward  property,  the  state  uses 
the  symbol  of  the  deed  or  the  promissory  note  for 
emphasizing  the  sanctity  of  property.  Looking 
toward  the  court  room,  society  uses  that  symbol 
called  taking  the  oath  for  the  purpose  of  empha- 
sizing the  solemnity  of  the  truth.  Looking 
toward  the  home  and  marriage,  the  state  uses  that 
symbol  called  the  wedding  ring  for  emphasizing 
the  sanctity  of  love.  And  in  the  realm  of  con- 
science, also,  Christ  made  a  beautiful  use  of  sym- 
bols for  emphasizing  the  importance  of  a  white 
life,  and  setting  forth  man's  dependence  upon 
God.  How  beautiful  His  use  of  the  water  that, 
bubbling  from  some  cool  spring  like  a  little  poem 
out  of  the  earth,  falls  upon  man  with  a  cleansing 
power  for  setting  forth  the  cleansing  grace  of 
God.  If  some  scientist  had  searched  through  all 
nature  for  some  beautiful  symbol  of  what  Christ 
and  God  are  to  the  soul,  what  symbol  could  he 
have  found  comparable  to  the  bread  that  repre- 
sents all  harvests,  all  fruits  and  grains  upon  which 
man  feeds,  or  the  wine  that  represents  the  purple 
flood  of  grapes,  the  dripping  juices  of  the  apple 
and  orange,  with  all  rich  tropic  growths. 


As  a  Religious  Teacher  133 

But  having  taught  men  how  to  move  through 
these  symbols  of  nature  up  to  nature's  God,  Christ 
led  men  toward  a  generous  toleration  and  charity. 
Having  left  man  free  to  choose  what  flowers  he 
would  plant  in  his  garden,  free  to  choose  what 
grains  he  would  sow  upon  his  fields,  free  to  choose 
his  own  profession  and  his  own  occupation,  Christ 
also  left  man  free  to  choose  his  church  govern- 
ment and  to  make  his  own  creeds.  God  makes 
harvests,  but  not  a  bill  of  fare.  And  God  makes 
truth,  but  not  church  polity,  not  church  govern- 
ment. God  makes  forests,  but  the  furniture  is 
made  by  man.  God  makes  the  symbols,  but  their 
use  and  government  is  made  by  men.  Therefore, 
Christ  expresses  no  preference  as  to  whether  men 
should  be  baptized  with  much  water  or  little.  He 
leaves  each  teacher  to  decide  for  himself  whether 
he  shall  wear  a  long  white  robe  in  the  pulpit  or  a 
short  black  one.  He  gives  no  teaching  in  regard 
to  millinery.  If  a  man  is  benefited  by  fasting  Fri- 
day and  feasting  Saturday ;  if  a  man  is  helped  by 
the  tinkling  of  bells  and  the  burning  of  incense, 
and  finds  that  the  perfumed  clouds  passing 
through  the  open  windows  and  rising  heavenward 
have  become  chariots  that  lift  his  aspirations  heav- 
enward, then  such  an  one  is  free  to  burn  his 
incense  and  tinkle  his  bells.  If  the  wants  of  one 


134       The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

individual  are  best  served  by  a  bishop  and  another 
by  the  presbytery  and  another  by  a  conference, 
let  each  choose  with  the  same  freedom  with  which 
he  chooses  to  live  under  a  republic  or  chooses  a 
limited  monarchy.  The  one  principle  is,  tolera- 
tion and  charity  for  all.  Only  let  not  the  Pope 
wipe  his  golden-bowed  spectacles  and  say,  "The 
truth  is  with  me."  And  let  not  the  Baptist  say, 
"  I  have  been  to  the  very  bottom  of  the  Jordan, 
therefore  the  truth  is  with  me."  Neither  let  the 
Presbyterian  say,  "  Sprinkling  is  like  the  rain  ;  it 
comes  down  from  the  heaven,  the  truth  is  with 
me."  But  for  all  let  there  be  sympathy,  love,  and 
fellowship.  God  is  ever  working  toward  variety 
and  difference,  and  man  is  forever  trying  to  rub  out 
the  differences.  Nature  does  not  turn  all  flowers 
into  roses,  but  works  toward  a  thousand  varieties 
of  bloom  and  blossom,  a  thousand  varieties  of 
fruit  and  grains  in  field  and  forest.  There  is 
room  for  all. 

To  many  the  new  teachings  seem  revolutionary, 
destructive,  and  provocative,  indeed,  of  grave 
anxiety.  For,  strangely  enough,  many  Christian 
teachers  have  accepted  the  atheistic  motto,  "It 
is  safer  to  trust  our  fears  than  our  hopes."  But 
God  is  abroad  in  the  world,  and  is  causing  new 
glowing  and  glorious  truths  to  break  forth  out 


As  a  Religious  Teacher  135 

of  His  word.  And  these  new  truths  are  work- 
ing great  changes  in  the  realm  of  philosophy 
and  theology.  For  some  these  changes  mean 
only  terror  and  alarm.  The  conditions  of  these 
frightened  ones  is  not  unlike  that  of  the  people 
of  the  arctic  region.  It  is  said  that  the  ice  in 
certain  interior  rivers  of  the  extreme  north  some- 
times does  not  move  out  for  an  entire  genera- 
tion. And  because  the  ice  bridge  binds  the  two 
shores  together,  the  savages  are  accustomed  to 
fish  upon  these  ice-locked  streams.  One  year 
the  summer  came  early  and  stayed  long.  Slowly 
the  sun  bored  holes  in  the  ice  above,  slowly  the 
warm  currents  gnawed  the  ice  beneath.  One  July 
day  the  huge  mass  began  to  move,  and  its  move- 
ment threw  the  people  into  an  agony  of  terror. 

They  did  not  know  that  the  open  river  with 
a  boat  would  do  a  thousand  times  more  for 
them  than  ice-locked  streams,  or  that  summer 
with  its  fruit  was  worth  a  thousand  times  more 
than  the  wintry  ice  with  its  fish.  Thus,  unto 
this  winter-clad  earth,  God  is  drawing  near. 
Many  a  great  system  has  been  caught  like  an 
iceberg  by  the  rich  tropic  currents.  Each  new 
influence  is  a  wind  made  warm  and  summery 
by  God's  heart.  Soon  the  "  systematic "  ice- 
bergs will  dissolve,  and  lend  themselves  to 


136      The  Simplicity  and  Breadth  of  Christ 

the  universal  ocean  that  blesses  every  con- 
tinent with  its  dew  and  rain.  God  is  working. 
The  light  is  growing.  Many,  alarmed,  are  club- 
bing together  to  resist  it.  But  the  sword  and 
the  spear  cannot  drive  back  the  south  winds 
and  the  summer.  The  scholars  are  too  many  and 
too  wise.  Soon  all  bats  and  owls  with  their 
scared  cries  must  return  to  the  caves  of  fear. 
Already  the  song  of  birds  is  in  the  air.  Once 
more  God's  presence  makes  all  the  earth  radiant. 
The  day  for  which  the  fathers  prayed  and 
hoped,  the  promised  land  which  was  denied 
them,  has  come  at  length  unto  their  children. 
Men  are  opening  their  eyes  to  the  blue  rifts  in 
the  sky,  they  are  opening  their  ears  to  the  voices 
that  call.  Once  more  above  us  is  the  multitude 
of  angels,  singing,  "Peace  on  earth,  good  will  to 
man."  Already  the  night  is  far  spent.  The 
day  is  at  hand.  Christ  is  abroad  upon  His, 
mission  of  recovery. 


VI 


ffiotr's  Silence  antr  $is  Foices 
of  Nature's  Concealments  ano  Disclosures 


"In  the  great  unfolding  which  is  going  on,  God  expands 
Himself  and  develops  Himself.  History  is  the  great  revelation 
of  Him.  While  God  acts  with  greatest  force  and  most  fruit 
upon  minds  that  are  enlarged  and  unfolded,  so  that  there  is 
a  major  inspiration  arising  from  the  character  of  the  persons 
inspired,  there  is  also  a  minor  inspiration,  or  the  mind  of  God 
acting  upon  everything  that  lives,  having  reason  and  moral 
sensibility.  That  inspiration  of  God  is  the  leaven  of  the  ages. 
It  is  the  secret  feeling  that  has  been  working  in  men,  and 
through  them  working  out  into  experiment  and  endeavor,  on 
some  sides  with  disaster,  and  on  some  sides  with  success,  and 
that  through  the  sole  medium  of  experiment  through  myriads 
of  ages  has  attained  to  relative  perfectness  of  social  usage,  of 
wise  legislation,  of  successful  civil  government,  or  organized 
and  progressive  industries  throughout  the  world.  All  these 
elements  are  divine.  They  are  from  God.  They  are  work- 
ing along  that  great  line,  by  which  men  are  to  be  brought 
back  to  God.  .  .  .  Whatever  thoughts  of  God,  coming  into 
the  souls  of  men,  are  unfolded  in  conduct  and  echoed  and  re- 
echoed until  they  become  general  truths,  and  whatever  works 
toward  plenitude  of  truth  and  purity  and  peace  and  joy  —  all 
this  is  according  to  the  will  of  God." 

—  BEECHER'S  "  Evolution  and  Religion." 


138 


VI 


GOD'S  SILENCE  AND  HIS  VOICES  ALSO :   A  STUDY  OF 
NATURE'S  CONCEALMENTS  AND  DISCLOSURES 

Nature  reticent.  Clouds  and  darkness  round  about  God's 
throne.  Nature  tells  man  nothing  that  he  can  find  out  for 
himself.  Mr.  Huxley's  wish  to  build  an  altar  "to  the  un- 
known God."  Overemphasis  of  agnosticism.  What  man 
loses  when  he  loses  the  sense  of  God's  loving  providence. 
Mill's  indictment  of  nature  for  cruelty.  The  joylessness  of 
agnostics,  from  Comte  to  Martineau  and  Clough.  The  soul 
keyed  to  knowledge  and  certainty.  The  silence  more  appar- 
ent than  real.  Some  concealments  are  revelations.  There  is 
a  silence  that  is  eloquent.  The  voices  of  God  in  the  animal 
world.  Instincts  are  revelators.  For  him  who  hath  ears  to 
hear  the  days  utter  speech  and  the  nights  show  knowledge. 
Nature  has  not  concealed  the  folly  of  iniquity.  Nature 
publishes  the  wisdom  of  right  living.  The  voice  of  history. 
The  sorrows  of  wrong-doers.  The  voice  of  conscience.  Its 
warnings.  Its  incitements.  God's  voice  in  Christ.  The 
disclosures  of  nature  more  wonderful  than  her  silence.  The 
full  revelation  in  Christ. 

"X  TATURE'S  concealments  are  numberless  and 
*  ^  wonderful.  Reticent,  she  keeps  her  own 
counsel.  Unlike  man  she  never  wears  her  heart 
upon  her  sleeve.  The  clouds  that  wrap  the 
mountains  about  with  mystery  interpret  nature's 

139 


140  God's  Silence 

tendency  to  veil  her  face  and  hold  off  all  in- 
truders. By  force  and  ingenuity  alone  does  man 
part  the  veil  or  pull  back  the  heavy  curtains. 
The  weight  of  honor  heaped  upon  him  who  reads 
her  secret  writings  on  the  rocks,  or  turns  some 
poison  into  balm  and  medicine,  or  makes  a  cop- 
per thread  to  be  a  bridge  for  speech,  proclaims 
how  difficult  it  is  to  solve  one  of  nature's  sim- 
pler secrets.  For  ages  man  shivered  with  cold, 
but  nature  concealed  the  anthracite  under  thick 
layers  of  soil.  For  ages  man  burned  with  fever, 
but  nature  hid  the  balm  under  the  bark  of  the 
tree.  For  ages  man  bore  his  heavy  burdens, 
but  nature  veiled  the  forces  in  the  stream  and 
concealed  the  fact  that  both  wind  and  river 
were  going  man's  way  and  might  bear  his  bur- 
dens. Ages  have  passed,  but  nature  is  so  reti- 
cent that  man  is  still  uncertain  whether  a  diet 
of  grain  or  a  diet  of  flesh  makes  the  ruddier 
countenance.  Also  it  is  still  doubtful  whether 
a  log  cabin  and  an  ox  or  a  college  and  a  gym- 
,.  nasium  can  do  the  more  for  each  young  Lincoln ; 
whether  poverty  or  wealth  does  the  more  to 
foster  the  poetic  spirit  in  Burns  or  the  philo- 
sophic temper  in  Bacon.  In  that  beautiful  temple 
of  Jerusalem  there  was  an  outer  wall,  an  inner 
court,  a  holy  place,  and  far  within  a  most  holy 


And  His  Voices  Also  141 

place.  Thus  nature  conceals  herself  behind  high 
walls  and  bulwarks,  and  God  also  has  made  thick 
the  clouds  that  surround  the  divine  throne. 

In  view  of  the  number  of  nature's  conceal- 
ments, Mr.  Huxley  once  remarked  that  but  for 
that  unknown  Athenian  who  had  anticipated  his 
thought,  he  should  have  erected  somewhere  in 
London  an  altar  with  this  inscription,  "To  the 
Unknown  God."  In  all  ages  the  savage  bowing 
before  the  fierce  storm  that  seems  the  breath  of 
God  must  needs  whisper  his  prayer  to  the  invisi- 
ble one.  In  all  ages  the  fire-worshipper  who 
counts  the  ascending  pillar  of  flames  to  be  a 
chariot  upon  which  his  soul  rides  forth  to  meet 
him  who  dwells  in  the  blazing  sun,  has  poured 
out  his  penitence  before  an  unseen  being.  But 
in  modern  times  it  is  the  scientist,  with  his 
microscope  and  scalpel,  laying  bare  the  nerve, 
only  to  find  that  the  life  has  fled  on  before, 
who  looks  out  toward  the  unknown  source  of 
life.  Our  age  has  so  unduly  emphasized  nature's 
silence  and  mystery  as  to  threaten  faith  in  God 
as  man's  guide  and  personal  friend.  The  pres- 
ent generation  has  suffered  losses  many  and 
grievous.  Fleets  have  been  shipwrecked,  cities 
have  been  burned,  hurricanes  have  destroyed 
harvests,  the  flight  of  the  locust  has  desolated 


142  God's  Silence 

whole  districts,  fortunes  have  vanished  like  vis- 
ions that  dissolve  and  leave  not  a  wrack  behind. 
But  these  have  not  been  man's  greatest  misfor- 
tunes. Society  has  suffered  no  loss  comparable 
to  the  loss  of  faith  in  a  personal  God  of  infinite 
and  imperishable  love.  If  that  loss  has  robbed 
the  poor  of  their  buoyancy  and  spring,  not  less 
has  it  robbed  the  children  of  greatness  and 
genius  of  their  power  and  victory. 

Famous  now  John  Stuart  Mill's  indictment  of 
nature  for  her  cruelty.  Where  he  had  looked  for 
voice  and  interpretation  the  philosopher  found 
silence  and  mystery.  Burke  himself,  charging 
cruelty  upon  Warren  Hastings,  was  gentleness 
itself  compared  to  Mill  in  his  fierce  philippic 
against  nature  for  her  refusal  to  explain  her 
mysteries.  Having  affirmed  that  nature  murders 
each  individual  sooner  or  later,  the  philosopher 
affirmed  that  she  seeks  out  methods  of  killing 
that  involve  the  torture  of  her  victims.  "  Na- 
ture impales  men,  breaks  them  on  the  wheel, 
burns  them  with  fire  or  crushes  them  with 
stones,  starves  them  with  hunger  or  freezes 
them  with  cold ;  perpetrates  a  death  so  hideous 
as  to  exceed  the  cruelty  of  Nero  or  Domitian ; 
the  exhalations  of  her  swamps  surpass  the  poison 
cups  of  the  Borgias ;  her  epidemics  are  as  de- 


And  His  Voices  Also  143 

structive  as  human  artillery ;  her  hurricanes 
overmatch  the  horrors  of  the  guillotine  and  the 
reign  of  terror  during  the  French  Revolution." 
Repudiating  the  name  of  atheist,  holding  that 
he  is  the  most  irrational  of  thinkers  who  with 
lips  and  heart  says  there  is  no  God,  Mill  also 
affirms  that  this  nameless  and  concealed  being 
is  not  one  whose  face  is  "humanized  to  the 
lineaments  of  love."  Saddened  by  nature's  si- 
lence, looking  wistfully  toward  the  cold,  vague 
depths  of  space,  scholars  have  waited  for  the 
silence  to  become  voice,  and  when  the  curtains 
have  not  parted  the  agnostics  have  become  sadly 
bitter.  "The  world's  winter  is  going,  I  hope, 
but  my  everlasting  winter  has  set  in."  Thus 
sadly  wrote  George  Eliot.  Harriet  Martineau 
was  earnestly  depressed  by  nature's  conceal- 
ments. "You  will  feel  at  once  how  earnestly 
I  must  be  longing  for  death,  I  who  never  hoped 
for  life,  and  who  would  any  day  of  my  life  have 
rather  departed  than  stayed.  Well,  it  can  hardly 
go  on  very  much  longer  now.  But  I  do  wish  it 
was  permitted  us  to  judge  for  ourselves  a  little 
how  long  we  ought  to  carry  on  the  task  which 
we  never  desired  and  could  not  refuse." 

Plainly,  here  the  authoress  wishes  that  suicide 
were  permitted.      Speaking  of  his  father  James 


144  God's  Silence 

Mill,  his  son  writes,  "  He  thought  human  life  a 
poor  thing  at  best,  after  the  freshness  of  youth 
and  the  unsatisfied  curiosity  had  gone  by."  Ar- 
thur Clough,  the  poet,  also  was  so  depressed  by 
nature's  silence  that  his  glad,  trustful  moods  de- 
parted, and  he  walked  through  a  world  that  seemed 
sombre,  joyless,  and  unpeopled.  In  the  Middle 
Ages  the  baron  or  king  secluded  himself  in  some 
vast  castle.  Beyond  the  castle  was  the  moat ; 
beyond  that  a  high  wall.  Brave,  indeed,  the 
knight  who  could  surmount  the  wall,  swim  the 
water,  break  down  the  inner  gate.  For  many 
the  clouds  about  God's  throne  have  become  so 
thick  as  to  seem  like  unto  heavy  granite  and 
impenetrable  walls.  Nature's  silence  has  made 
life  an  enigma  and  a  puzzle. 

The  concealments  of  nature  stir  wonder,  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  the  soul  is  keyed  to  knowl- 
edge and  certainty.  As  a  harp  is  made  for  music, 
and  not  to  discord,  so  man  is  made  for  confidence 
and  not  doubt.  Looking  toward  the  sick  room, 
the  store,  the  market-place,  it  is  uncertainty  and 
anxiety  that  kills.  Once  the  issue  is  known, 
there  is  no  shock  man  cannot  survive.  Even  as 
to  unknown  things  like  harvests,  nature  furnishes 
a  rational  basis  for  confidence.  Harvests  are  so 
uniform  as  to  have  the  regularity  of  natural  law  ; 


And  His  yokes  Also  145 

otherwise  man  would  not  plough  or  sow.  In 
times  of  war  man  will  not  open  a  furrow  if  the 
enemy's  troops  are  to  trample  down  the  grain  ; 
nor  build  storehouse  and  barn  if  the  troops  are  to 
fire  the  rafters  and  rooftree.  Thus  nature  accus- 
toms man  to  knowledge  and  certainty.  She  has 
not  left  man  in  doubt  as  to  how  her  agents  will 
act.  Fire  always  burns ;  water  always  drowns ; 
acids  always  eat ;  spring  always  follows  winter. 
Having  trained  him  to  confidence  and  security, 
nature  has  also  accustomed  man,  not  to  mystery, 
but  to  masters ;  not  to  silence,  but  to  the  voice 
of  teachers.  From  time  to  time  she  raises  up 
great  men  who  are  masters  in  art,  masters  in  lit- 
erature, masters  in  law  and  philosophy.  When 
these  great  ones  speak  we  sit  at  their  feet  and 
do  them  homage.  As  the  expert  mountaineer 
climbs  to  the  summit  of  the  Jungfrau,  where  the 
avalanches  hang  trembling  upon  the  edge  of  the 
precipice,  and  without  fear  crosses  crevasse  and 
gorge,  so  we  behold  the  sons  of  greatness  accom- 
plishing with  consummate  ease  that  which  baffles 
our  utmost  toil.  Gladly  we  acknowledge  their 
leadership.  Built  for  certainty  and  accustomed 
to  culture  through  masters  and  teachers,  nature's 
silence  has  seemed  to  baffle  men.  Nevertheless, 
we  may  be  permitted  to  urge  the  inquiry,  whether 


146  God's  Silence 

or  not  the  concealments  of  nature  have  not  been 
magnified,  whether  things  are  not  known  which 
are  called  hidden,  and  things  plainly  revealed 
which  are  called  secret.  There  is  a  silence  that 
is  eloquence ;  there  is  a  mystery  that  is  big 
with  disclosure ;  there  is  a  concealment  that  is 
revelation. 

Looking  toward  the  animal  world,  it  is  not  the 
silence,  but  the  voices  of  God,  that  stir  our  aston- 
ishment. Each  inventor  accompanies  his  sewing- 
machine  or  reaper  with  a  handbook  of  explana- 
tions. The  illustrated  chart  explains  the  wheel ; 
the  picture  explains  this  bolt,  this  pulley,  that 
escapement.  But  a  philosopher  has  described 
the  instinct  of  an  animal  as  the  handbook  that 
accompanies  the  animal  and  explains  its  mechan- 
ism. It  is  not  a  matter  of  doubt  or  uncertainty 
as  to  what  the  bird  or  beast  is  to  do.  By  instinct 
the  young  eagle  flies ;  by  instinct  the  young  lark 
sings ;  by  instinct  the  beaver  builds  ;  by  instinct 
the  squirrel  gathers  its  store.  Instinct  teaches 
the  spider  how  to  fashion  its  trap-door;  instinct 
teaches  the  bee  how  to  make  its  cell  six-sided,  in 
the  interests  of  the  greatest  possible  economy  of 
strength  and  space.  The  vegetable  world  also  has 
its  voice  and  proclamation.  Rending  away  the 
acorn's  shell,  the  plantlet  proclaims  its  oakhood. 


And  His  yokes  Also  147 

Concealed  under  many  coverings,  the  rosebud 
bursts  its  wrappings  and  publishes  its  scarlet 
secret.  Man  plants  an  unknown  root,  but  pur- 
ple clusters  soon  proclaim  the  vine.  He  plants 
an  unknown  seed,  but  the  sharp  sting  hastens  to 
advertise  the  thistle.  Much  is  said  about  secret 
germs  that  turn  drops  of  water  into  war-ships, 
and  lurk  in  ambush  for  men.  But,  properly 
analyzed,  every  case  of  typhoid  means  that  the 
tiny  germ  supposed  to  be  secret  has  climbed,  as 
it  were,  upon  the  housetop,  and  proclaimed  its 
warning  to  an  entire  city.  From  Newton  the 
sun  has  no  secrets ;  from  Wordsworth  the  rain- 
bow has  no  hidden  colors ;  to  Geike  geology  yields 
up  her  hidden  story ;  to  Proctor  stars  proclaim 
their  far-off  elements.  Upon  that  new  eye  or 
ear  called  a  spectroscope,  or  a  microscope,  or  a 
phonograph,  all  forces  and  facts  whisper  their  rich 
secrets.  Indeed,  nature  is  becoming  one  vast 
whispering  gallery.  The  earth  one  vast  room, 
where  natural  laws  serve  men  ;  the  lightning  has 
become  a  messenger ;  the  sunbeam  paints  his  pic- 
tures ;  the  very  wastes  give  up  their  treasures  of 
healing  and  fragrance,  until  the  time  seems  rap- 
idly approaching  when  every  secret  shall  be 
known,  and  man  shall  be  lord  over  every  force 
and  fact  in  nature.  There  is  not  one  stone  or 


148  God's  Silence 

shrub  or  seed  or  bird  or  beast  or  star  but  breaks 
into  voice  for  man's  instruction.  Day  unto  day 
hath  uttered  speech ;  night  unto  night  hath  shown 
knowledge. 

Nature  has  not  concealed  the  folly  of  iniquity, 
nor  has  she  been  silent  as  to  the  wisdom  of  right 
living.  Having  made  wide  the  chasm  between  the 
snowdrift  and  the  red  rose,  nature  has  also  made 
wide  the  difference  between  the  murderer  and 
the  philanthropist.  To  each  wrong-doer  she 
speaks  in  a  voice  that  is  sharp  and  clear,  leaving 
the  incautious  youth  without  excuse.  Very  early 
in  his  career  does  man  find  that  nature's  voice  is 
a  still,  small  voice,  and  that  her  whisperings  drown 
man's  thunders.  Through  frost  that  nips  his  fin- 
gers and  feet,  nature  drives  the  boy  back  from  the 
deep  drifts.  With  gentle  severity  nature  makes 
the  sharp  pain  punish  the  child  for  his  gluttony. 
Through  an  aching  head  and  throbbing  brow  she 
warns  the  youth  against  excesses  of  riotous  living. 
From  her  throne  nature  sends  these  pains  forth 
to  warn  the  youth  back  from  the  precipice  and 
the  slough.  He  who  sets  a  snare  for  a  bird  so 
conceals  the  trap  that  not  until  it  is  too  late  does 
the  bird  perceive  the  net.  But,  so  far  from  using 
art  to  lead  the  youth  into  the  soft,  silken  delights 
of  some  Sodom,  every  downward  step  youth  takes 


And  His  Voices  Also  149 

is  accompanied  by  sharp  warnings  from  nature. 
If  hunger  is  an  alarm  bell  warning  man  against 
overtaxing  his  body,  if  thirst  is  nature's  automatic 
signal  directing  that  the  tissues  need  water  to 
guard  against  inflammation,  all  pains  that  accom- 
pany man's  sins  are  automatic  bells  that  peal  out 
warning  and  alarm.  Nor  is  there  one  form  of  ill- 
doing  that  is  not  accompanied  with  voices  of 
warning.  If  the  youth  harbor  an  evil  thought 
within,  nature  straightway  sets  the  brand  of  evil 
upon  the  face  without,  that,  beholding  his  face  in 
his  mirror,  he  may  draw  back  from  defilement.  If 
the  youth  rakes  'midst  the  garbage  of  literature 
that  he  may  discover  the  novel  or  story  that  min- 
isters to  his  morbid  sense,  nature  organizes  a  cor- 
responding coarsening  into  the  countenance,  and 
causes  the  mind's  mud  to  show  in  the  bottom  of 
the  eye.  In  the  region  of  Pompeii  the  orangery 
is  close  to  the  abyss  of  fire  in  Vesuvius.  If  man 
stands  in  the  grape  arbor,  nature  warns  him  by 
the  steam  arising  from  the  boiling  spring.  If  the 
traveller  stoops  to  enjoy  the  fragrance  of  the 
orange  blossom,  nature  startles  him  by  the  smell 
of  sulphur  rising  from  the  heated  lava.  When 
men  have  loved  pleasure  more  than  duty  and  have 
put  God  far  from  their  thoughts,  then  nature, 
Vesuvius-like,  drops  some  fiery  mass  close  to 


150  God's  Silence 

their   feet,   lest   they   finish   their   career  as   the 
moth  in  the  candle. 

Long  ago  Cleopatra,  the  daughter  of  supreme 
beauty,  received  sin  into  her  arms,  counting  it  to 
be  an  angel  of  light ;  but,  alas  !  sin  broke  her  heart, 
and  soon  she  welcomed  the  viper  to  her  bosom. 
It  was  sin  that  wrecked  the  palace  of  David.  It 
was  sin  that  ruined  the  genius  of  Solomon.  It 
was  sin  that  stole  the  purple  from  Alcibiades  and 
gave  him  instead  the  robe  of  a  slave.  It  was  sin 
that,  serpentlike,  crawled  over  the  threshold  of 
the  palaces  in  Rome  and  left  its  slime  within  court 
and  banqueting  hall.  Sin  was  the  flame  which 
blackened  the  Doge's  palace  in  Venice.  Sin  was 
the  earthquake  that  toppled  down  the  treasure- 
houses  of  Florence.  For  Bacon  sin  was  a  worm 
in  the  bud  of  his  heart.  For  Byron  sin  was  moth 
and  rust  that  consumed  the  mind.  For  Shelley 
sin  was  a  Vandal  that  grew  by  the  rapine  and  mur- 
der of  the  poet's  soul.  The  ancients  tell  us  of  a 
princess  who,  desiring  a  gift  of  the  crafty  court 
astrologer,  was  told  to  kiss  day  by  day  for  one 
hundred  days  a  beautiful  picture,  after  which  she 
was  to  receive  her  heart's  desire.  It  was  a  cruel 
trick,  for  the  picture  contained  a  subtle  poison. 
Little  by  little  the  golden  tresses  of  the  beautiful 
woman  turned  white,  her  beauty  faded,  her  eyes 


And  His  Voices  Also  151 

became  dim,  her  lips  black,  until,  long  before  the 
appointed  time  was  completed,  the  queenly  beauty 
lay  dead.  But  nature,  so  far  from  leading  man  by 
false  pretences  into  evil  courses,  makes  every  step 
of  his  downward  way  to  be  accompanied  by  warn- 
ings and  voices.  God  has  never  been  silent  as  to 
sin. 

Kant,  standing  under  "the  polished  dome,  in 
which  the  lamps  of  God  did  burn,"  thought  nature 
broke  the  silence  in  the  voice  of  conscience.  For 
the  philosopher  the  sense  of  duty  was  God's  whis- 
per in  the  soul.  The  letter  "  O "  in  the  word 
"  ought "  enlarged  into  a  circle  that  included  the 
whole  universe.  In  his  childhood,  stepping  upon 
a  worm,  the  little  voice  within  whispered,  "  It  is 
wrong."  In  his  mature  manhood  also  that  divine 
whisper  never  failed  to  rebuke  him  for  sinning 
against  his  better  convictions,  never  failed  to 
praise  him  for  living  up  to  his  highest  ideals. 
Even  in  children  of  vice  and  crime  the  whisper  is 
never  subdued  into  utter  silence.  Park  speaks  of 
the  mariners  sailing  over  the  sunken  islands  of  the 
Caribbean  Sea,  and  imagining  that  they  hear  the 
ringing  of  bells  in  submerged  villages.  Thus 
man's  deepest  convictions  often  seem  submerged 
beneath  sordidness  and  sin.  Yet  ever  and  anon 
obscure  and  mysterious  voices  arise  from  the 


152  God's  Silence 

soul's  hidden  depths.  It  was  conscience  that 
made  King  David  turn  pale  and  tremble  when  a 
prophet  said,  "Thou  art  the  man."  It  is  con- 
science that  makes  each  guilty  youth  to  have  a 
cheek  of  marble  when  he  reads  the  words,  "  Mene, 
mene,  tekel."  It  was  of  conscience  that  Lucretius 
spake  when  he  said,  "Though  the  dungeon,  the 
scourge,  and  the  executioner  be  absent,  the  guilty 
mind  can  apply  the  goad  and  scorch  with  blows." 
It  was  of  conscience  that  Juvenal  said,  "The 
sight  of  a  glittering  sword  hanging  by  hair  over 
the  flushed  neck  of  the  youth  is  less  terrible  than 
the  individual  conscience  of  the  guilty."  It  was 
of  conscience  also  that  Martineau  was  thinking 
when  he  said  :  "  He  who  follows  the  sense  of  duty 
as  God's  messenger  for  to-day  will  find  on  to- 
morrow that  two  angels  have  come  to  guide  him 
on  his  way.  For  every  duty  done  leaves  the  eye 
more  clear  and  enables  gentler  whispers  to  reach 
the  ear ;  every  brave  sacrifice  incurred  lightens 
the  weight  of  the  clinging  self  which  holds  us 
back;  every  storm  of  passion  swept  away  leaves 
the  air  of  the  mind  transparent  for  more  distant 
visions."  Thus  the  light  that  began  as  a  taper 
waxes  into  the  glory  of  a  beacon,  and  the  voice 
that  was  a  whisper  becomes  full  and  round,  guid- 
ing man  upon  his  earthly  way. 


And  His  Voices  Also  153 

But  if  the  stone  hath  its  story ;  if  the  acorn  and 
rosebud  unroll  their  secrets,  as  does  each  blazing 
star ;  if  brain  and  nerve  rebuke  self-indulgence ; 
if  that  stream  of  tendency  that  makes  for  right- 
eousness in  history  finds  voice  in  the  whisper 
of  conscience,  will  not  the  God  of  mystery  and 
silence  send  forth  His  voice  ?  Well  may  man 
exclaim,  "  Let  all  the  earth  be  silent,  if  only  God 
will  speak."  Baffled  by  the  clouds  and  darkness 
around  God's  throne,  man  exclaims:  "Is  He  indeed 
the  far-off  and  unspeaking  One?  Is  His  throne 
crystalline  ?  Is  He  as  vague  and  cold  as  the  dis- 
tant ether  ?  Unheeding  man,  does  He  behold 
the  generations  in  their  dumb  dulness  marching 
to  the  execution  ?  "  "  He  hath  spoken,"  said  the 
philosopher.  "Planets  and  suns  represent  His 
infinite  genius  rushing  into  sight."  Through  his 
engine  the  mind  of  Watt  passes  before  man's 
mind.  Through  his  canvas  we  discern  the  mind 
of  Millet ;  through  his  cathedral,  the  mind  of  Von 
Rile. 

It  may  be  said  that  no  poet,  no  philosopher, 
no  student,  through  his  books,  hath  ever  so 
fully  spoken  his  mind  and  heart  as  hath  the  great 
God.  The  passing  seasons,  with  the  majesty  of 
summer  and  the  sanctity  of  winter,  represent  the 
canvas  upon  which  He  portrays  His  passing 


154  God's  Silence 

thoughts.  The  tropic  flowers,  so  luxuriant  upon 
the  plains  of  Africa  as  to  clog  the  baggage-wagons 
of  Stanley,  represent  the  richness  of  beauty  with 
which  God  embroiders  the  lap  of  spring.  The 
mountains,  with  their  cloud-capped  towers ;  the 
high  hills,  all  aged  with  snow ;  the  far-lying  hill- 
sides, waving  with  the  wheat,  and  spotted  with  the 
fire  of  waving  poppies ;  the  distant  plains,  filled 
with  the  hum  of  village  and  city,  represent  the 
infinite  variety  and  the  wealth  of  God's  mind  and 
heart  rushing  into  sight  and  breaking  into  voice. 
In  an  Alpine  valley  Tyndall  found  a  huge,  trian- 
gular boulder..  Tracing  it  back,  he  came  to  the 
very  spot  from  whence  the  stone  came.  Thus 
man,  beholding  the  gentleness  of  the  mother,  the 
self-sacrifice  of  the  father,  the  heroism  of  the  poet, 
the  devotion  of  the  martyr,  the  disinterestedness 
of  a  friend,  traces  all  these  qualities  back  to  God, 
from  whom  man  borrowed  his  lustrous  gifts.  But 
it  is  in  Christ  that  the  silence  of  God  breaks  into 
full  voice.  As  no  artist  can  make  a  frame  large 
enough  to  include  the  evening  sunset,  sp  no  voice 
can  compass,  no  pen  include,  the  full  statement  of 
the  character  of  that  Divine  Being.  We  can  only 
say  that  what  He  was  toward  the  sweet  child  and 
its  dying  mother,  toward  the  publican  and  prodi- 
gal, toward  sinner  and  disciple,  that  God  is  toward 


And  His  Voices  Also  155 

all  men,  in  all  time.  What  during  His  three  and 
thirty  years  Christ  said,  God  ever  says  ;  what 
Christ  did,  God  ever  does ;  what  Christ  was,  God 
is  through  all  space,  throughout  all  time- 


VII 

P?ifl0er  Nature  of  Plan  as  a  i&ebelation 
of  ffiofc 


"  Man  is  neither  the  master  nor  the  slave  of  nature ;  he 
is  its  interpreter  and  living  word.  Man  consummates  the 
universe,  and  gives  a  voice  to  the  mute  creation.  Man  is  the 
microcosmos,  answering  to  the  larger  word  and  world  of 

God." 

—  EDGAR  QUINET. 


VII 

THE  HIGHER  NATURE    OF   MAN   AS   A    REVELATION 
OF    GOD 

Man  an  epitome  of  nature.  The  child  of  destiny.  Stands 
forth  clothed  with  the  impressiveness  of  a  landscape  or  city. 
The  soul  the  true  terra  incognita.  His  tools,  arts,  and 
industries  suggest  one  a  little  lower  than  God.  A  pseudo- 
science  cheapens  man.  A  false  theology  degrades  him. 
Man's  body  includes  all  the  excellences  distributed  in  the 
rest  of  creation.  Man  is  the  consummation  of  mental  gifts. 
Man's  moral  supremacy.  Christ's  revelation  of  the  human 
mind  as  keyed  to  the  divine  mind.  This  makes  a  revelation 
possible.  The  earthly  child  a  miniature  of  the  divine  father. 
Man's  divinity  argued  from  the  ease  with  which  he  receives 
great  ideas.  Bushnell's  argument  from  the  ruins.  Man's 
creative  skill.  The  cross  as  a  measure  of  man's  worth. 
God's  love  as  a  test  of  man's  value. 

"IV  /TODERN  science  has  made  man  to  step 
•*•'•*•  into  the  earthly  scene  the  child  of  des- 
tiny. Before  the  seer's  admiring  vision  this 
divine  one  stands  forth,  clothed  with  all  the 
impressiveness  of  a  landscape  or  a  city.  -Imagi- 
nation can  scarcely  paint  in  colors  too  rich  this 
being  uniting  in  his  tiny  body  all  the  excellences 
of  the  lower  animal  creation,  and  described  by 
the  poet  as  "only  a  little  lower  than  God."  For 

159 


160  The  Higher  Nature  of  Man 

man  is  a  mystery  second  only  to  God  Himself. 
The  psychologist  can  no  more  find  out  the  soul 
to  perfection  than  the  theologian  can  search  out 
God.  In  the  realm  of  geography,  the  last  conti- 
nent has  been  discovered,  and  the  head  waters 
of  the  last  Nile  explored.  But  the  human  mind 
remains  the  terra  incognita.  After  centuries  of 
exploration,  scholars  are  still  skirting  around  the 
edge  of  the  human  mind,  as  once  John  Cabot 
explored  the  creeks  and  bays  along  the  edge  of 
this  new  continent  Because  futurity  was  big 
within  him,  the  seer  was  not  afraid  to  eulogize 
man.  Ignorance  cheapens  the  soul,  but  wisdom 
stands  in  awe  thereof.  An  acute  author  has  dis- 
tinguished between  conceit  and  sense  of  personal 
worth.  Conceit  he  says  is  based  upon  some 
quality  that  makes  a  man  to  differ  from  his 
fellows  ;  the  sense  of  worth  concerns  itself  with 
what  man  holds  in  common  with  his  fellows.  At 
bottom  man  may  be  an  animal,  but  midway  he 
is  a  citizen,  and  at  the  top  he  is  consciously 
divine. 

That  was  a  great  day  for  our  earth  when  this 
fragmentary  God  stepped  into  the  scene*  Imme- 
diately man  began  his  creative  work,  as  did  the 
great  God  before  him.  Hearing  sounds  he  swept 
them  into  music.  Seeing  colors,  he  swept  the 


As  a  Revelation  of  God  161 

lovely  hues  together  in  pictures.  Looking  out- 
ward, he  swept  his  thoughts  together  in  poems 
and  dramas.  Standing  by  the  cradle,  in  his 
joy,  this  strange  being  wept ;  standing  by  the 
grave,  with  streaming  eyes,  he  looked  upward 
and  smiled.  His  genius  shed  wisdom  like  per- 
fume. His  heart  shed  sympathy  like  a  gushing 
spring.  Clothed  with  heroism,  he  walked  the 
earth  like  a  young  Titan.  Admiring  many 
things,  man,  the  wonderer,  was  himself  the  most 
wonderful.  The  Alps  are  not  so  sublime  as  the 
mountain-minded  Humboldt.  The  sea  itself  is 
less  deep  than  the  mind  of  the  scientist  who 
explored  its  secret  abyss.  The  heavens  above 
are  not  so  sublime  as  the  moral  law  in  man. 
The  libraries  are  less  impressive  than  the  mind 
that  crowds  the  shelves.  The  stars  themselves 
are  but  sparks  that  flew  from  the  anvil  when 
God  fashioned  man.  Pronounce  those  names,  as- 
tronomy, oratorio,  printing-press,  telegraph,  ship, 
palace,  cathedral,  and  we  seem  to  have  been 
carried  in  some  golden  chariot  far  above  the 
level  of  the  brute  world,  into  a  realm  where  we 
deal  with  the  thoughts  of  one  made  indeed  only 
a  "little  lower  than  the  great  God"  Himself. 

To-day  a  pseudo-science  and  a  pseudo-theology 
are  doing  all  they  can  to  cheapen  man.     The  one 


162  The  Higher  Nature  of  Man 

compares  him  with  the  bee  and  beaver,  and  affirms 
that  man  is  as  much  better  than  the  sheep  as  his 
facial  angle  is  larger  and  his  brain  heavier.  This 
makes  him  out  a  selfish  and  mortal  animal  with 
a  brain  that  secretes  ideas  as  his  heart  secretes 
blood.  This  false  theology  makes  man  a  selfish 
and  immortal  devil,  wholly  opposite  to  all  good, 
wholly  inclined  to  all  evil.  The  first  makes  man 
a  little  higher  than  the  brutes  ;  the  second  makes 
him  a  little  higher  than  the  demons.  But  this 
divine  book,  the  Bible,  ascends  into  the  highest 
heavens,  and  ranks  him  only  a  "little  lower  than 
God."  It  stirs  our  wonder  that  one  group  of 
thinkers  believes  it  honors  man  by  placing  him 
at  the  head  of  an  ascending  series  of  brutes, 
while  the  other  thinks  it  honors  God  by  debas- 
ing His  handiwork  to  the  level  of  imps.  All  this 
is  like  seeking  to  honor  a  sculptor  by  casting 
contempt  upon  his  statues,  in  order  to  produce 
a  wide  space  between  the  artist  and  his  handi- 
work. These  false  views  have  wrought  immeas- 
urable mischief  upon  society.  Nothing  exalts  like 
the  sense  of  personal  worth,  and  nothing  degrades 
like  a  mean  conception  of  personality.  How  true 
the  proverb,  "  Call  a  man  a  thief,  and  he  will 
prove  the  allegation  by  picking  your  pocket." 
Contrariwise,  confidence  is  met  with  fidelity. 


As  a  Revelation  of  God  163 

Recently,  when  a  western  city  had  been  shame- 
fully misgoverned  by  the  "  machine,"  in  sheer 
desperation  a  group  of  men  nominated  for  mayor 
the  town  loafer,  notorious  for  his  worthlessness. 
By  some  chance  this  shiftless  buffoon  was  elected. 
Now,  the  poor  creature  took  the  honor  seriously. 
Confidence  galvanized  his  manhood.  He  straight- 
way forsook  the  saloon,  cleansed  his  person,  coun- 
selled with  the  best  citizens,  found  out  what  the 
liquor  laws  were,  enforced  them  rigorously,  drove 
out  the  gamblers,  raided  his  old  haunts  night 
after  night,  watched  his  policemen  with  unsleep- 
ing vigilance,  and  ended  his  term  of  office  an  in- 
dustrious and  hard-working  citizen. 

Christ's  enthusiasm  for  humanity,  that  made 
him  attach  a  value  to  the  soul  beyond  that  of 
the  whole  world,  was  a  part  of  His  mastery  over 
man.  With  what  reverential  regard  did  He  always 
speak  of  him  !  He  shot  life  through  and  through' 
with  sacredness.  When  man  was  revealed  as 
"  only  a  little  lower  than  God,"  the  old  weari- 
ness of  life  departed.  The  old  proverb,  "Better 
it  were  to  die  quickly,  best  of  all  never  to  have 
been  born,"  the  old  feeling  expressed  by  the 
stoics  that  "the  aim  of  philosophy  is  to  despise 
life,"  the  old  teaching  that  made  life  cheap  and 
suicide  familiar,  passed  utterly  away.  In  its 


164  The  Higher  Nature  of  Man 

enriching  influence  Christ's  new  conception  of 
the  soul's  worth  was  like  the  influence  of  the 
soft  south  winds  that  push  back  the  icy  storms 
and  bring  in  the  tropic  summer.  As  when  in 
the  fifteenth  century  the  Greek  scholars  from 
Constantinople  brought  the  classic  manuscripts 
and  the  masterpieces  of  the  great  painters  and 
sculptors,  and  diffused  the  new  learning  over  all 
the  Italian  land,  so  Christ's  enthusiasm  for  the 
soul  as  something  divinely  rich  has  always  brought 
in  the  renaissance  of  the  mind  and  the  rejuvena- 
tion of  the  heart. 

To-day  scholars  are  asking  afresh  the  question, 
From  whence  came  man,  and  whose  stamp  and 
image  does  he  bear  ?  Replying,  science  insti- 
tutes comparisons  and  contrasts.  We  are  told 
all  the  excellences  of  the  lower  animal  creation 
are  swept  together  in  man's  single  person.  But 
when  we  have  confessed  that  through  ages  many, 
and  by  processes  various,  all  excellences  dis- 
tributed among  the  animals  are  united  in  man's 
body,  it  remains  for  us  to  recognize  that  where 
the  animal  life  stops  man's  begins  afresh,  and 
goes  on  to  a  thousand  new  and  varied  forms  of 
perfection.  If  the  birds  and  beasts  count  in- 
stincts their  chiefest  treasures,  man  deems  his 
instincts  to  be  his  least  and  lowest  gifts.  The 


As  a  Revelation  of  God  165 

distance  between  this  little  earth  and  the  most 
distant  star  is  not  so  great  as  the  distance  be- 
tween the  highest  animal  and  the  lowest  man. 
Whether  intelligence  represents  a  slow  growth 
or  a  sudden  grafting,  all  must  confess  that  it  is 
an  infinite  remove  from  the  brute.  But  man's 
superiority  is  not  merely  in  the  use  of  fire  for 
food,  of  soft  wool  for  clothing,  or  in  the  substitu- 
tion of  marble  houses  for  straw  nests.  Animals 
are  stationary.  Man  journeys  upward  by  leaps 
and  bounds.  Two  thousand  years  have  passed 
since  Plato  enumerated  the  instincts  of  the  bee, 
but  after  all  these  centuries,  Longstroth  says 
the  honey-bee  has  added  not  a  single  new  idea 
to  its  cell.  In  Seneca's  day  man  made  a  pet 
and  companion  of  the  monkey.  Despite  all  this 
companionship,  the  monkey  is  still  unable  to  utter 
a  single  noble  sentiment  or  write  a  single  book. 

When  Coleridge  stood  before  Mont  Blanc  he 
forgot  hunger,  exhaustion,  pain  itself,  and  with 
eyes  dim  and  suffused  with  tears,  the  poet 
thought  only  of  that  sight  sublime.  But  his  dog 
was  so  interested  in  his  owner's  dinner  that  he 
left  the  mountain  to  the  exclusive  enjoyment  and 
use  of  his  master.  Pity,  too,  is  unknown  in  the 
animal  realm.  The  eagle  pushes  its  sick  young 
out  of  the  nest.  The  young  tiger  forsakes  its 


166  The  Higher  Nature  of  Man 

bleeding  dam.  The  elk  will  turn  upon  the 
wounded,  and  kill  the  dying  of  its  own  kind. 

Nor  has  the  bird  or  beast  any  intelligence 
beyond  its  own  wants.  The  squirrel  finds  its 
store  of  nuts,  the  spider  spreads  its  net  for  prey, 
the  salmon  searches  out  some  nook  to  protect 
its  young,  the  ostriches  club  together  to  put  the 
eggs  of  yesterday  in  one  nest  under  the  care  of 
the  male  bird,  and  the  eggs  of  to-morrow  in 
another  nest ;  the  wild  fowl  trace  the  course  of 
migratory  flight ;  yet  all  these  instincts  are  oc- 
cupied wholly  with  self-care  and  self-protection. 
But  when  the  statesman  or  philanthropist  has 
cared  for  himself  there  still  remains  an  over- 
plus of  intelligence,  with  which  he  may  go  on  to 
achieve  liberty  for  some  slave,  or  happiness  and 
comfort  for  some  region  devastated  by  disease 
or  famine.  The  best  the  bird  can  do  is  to  leave 
a  few  meaningless  tracks  upon  the  slab  of  stone, 
while  man  is  to  be  tracked  by  those  names, 
Hamlet,  the  Messiah,  York  Minster,  the  Principia, 
the  Republic  of  Plato,  the  laws  of  Moses. 

But  the  least  part  of  man's  supremacy  is  that 
love  of  beauty  and  truth  by  which  he  builds 
temples,  composes  symphonies,  fashions  laws, 
achieves  liberty.  Conscience  and  faith,  love  and 
self-sacrifice,  make  up  his  crowning  excellences. 


As  a  Revelation  of  God  167 

Unlike  the  lion,  when  man  strikes  he  can  feel 
remorse.  The  lion's  every  deed  is  finished  up 
to  date.  When  death  comes  nothing  is  overdue. 
But  man  is  responsible.  Memory  is  continuous. 
Conscience  freshens  old  recollections,  as  a  chem- 
ical bath  brings  out  faded  ink.  As  the  years 
speed  on  for  Eugene  Aram,  his  murderous  deed 
assumes  larger  proportions  and  takes  on  blacker 
hues.  Conscience  is  God's  whisper  in  man's 
soul.  Across  man's  brow  in  letters  of  living 
white  is  the  divine  handwriting.  But  when  we 
have  exhausted  all  language,  we  still  fall  far  short 
of  portraying  the  vast  chasm  that  separates  man 
from  animals. 

Now  the  vastness  of  nature  into  which  man  is 
ushered,  the  vast  truths  opening  out  before  his 
mind,  the  vastness  of  the  career  lying  beyond 
the  grave,  all  these  unite  in  asking  man  to  enter 
the  scene  clothed  with  a  certain  vastness  of 
nature.  Only  a  divine  mind  will  be  equal  to 
the  divine  opportunity.  Man  is  doomed  unless 
he  begins  large.  What  is  behind  a  creature  in 
the  way  of  origin  will  determine  what  is  before 
it  in  the  way  of  destiny.  Largeness  must  be  in 
the  seed  before  largeness  can  be  in  the  tree. 
No  additions  of  soil  and  sunshine  can  bring 
the  tiny  mustard  seed  into  the  gianthood  of  the 


168  The  Higher  Nature  of  Man 

redwood  tree  in  California.  The  proverb  that 
no  man  becomes  a  poet  after  he  is  twenty  years 
of  age  means  that  the  greatness  of  Tennyson  or 
Browning  is  a  unique  birth  gift.  Many  scientists 
—  few  Newtons  ;  many  preachers  —  Beecher  once 
in  a  hundred  years.  Greatness  is  an  initial  gift, 
and  so  is  smallness.  Once  a  dog,  always  a  dog; 
once  a  thistle,  always  a  thistle ;  once  born  color- 
blind, always  color-blind. 

Culture  can  make  bitter  oranges  sweet,  but 
culture  cannot  make  a  thorn  bring  forth  figs, 
nor  teach  an  elephant  to  write  poems.  Born 
upon  the  flat,  things  must  remain  upon  the  flat. 
The  only  hope  a  creature  has  is  in  a  large  be- 
ginning. If  a  man  is  to  achieve  a  sublime 
destiny  he  must  begin  with  a  summit  mind. 
The  secret  of  man's  vast  achievements  lies  in 
the  fact  that  he  began  a  little  lower  than  God. 
Starting  with  that,  every  ideal  and  vision  becomes 
a  golden  possibility.  The  dignity  and  majesty 
of  life  is  the  conscious  possession  of  an  infinite 
capacity  of  learning  and  of  germs  and  potencies 
of  an  infinite  good.  Nothing  is  impossible  for 
a  being  whose  genius  is  God-breathed  —  whose 
spirit  is  filial  and  divine. 

It  is  this  being  but  little  lower  than  God  that 
renders  it  so  easy  for  man  to  receive  a  divine 


As  a  Revelation  of  God  169 

revelation.  Persons  who  understand  each  other 
have  tastes  in  common.  Just  as  the  electrical 
instrument  in  one  house  is  delicately  and  pre- 
cisely adjusted  to  the  telephone  in  the  other 
house,  in  order  that  the  words  of  the  speaker 
may  slip  easily  into  the  ears  of  the  hearer,  so 
man's  mind  and  heart  are  delicately  patterned 
after  God's,  in  order  that  His  thoughts  and  pur- 
poses may  easily  pass  into  the  mental  recognition 
of  man.  All  man's  knowledge  comes  through 
similar  preparatory  adjustments.  His  eye  is  ad- 
justed to  the  sunbeam  ;  his  ear  to  wave  sounds ; 
his  reason  is  adjusted  to  axioms,  his  taste  is 
adjusted  to  principles  of  beauty,  and  all  his  facul- 
ties are  made  to  answer  to  the  larger  faculties 
in  the  Divine  Being.  Now,  once  adjust  the  eye 
to  a  single  sunbeam  and  it  can  go  on  to  an  easy 
understanding  of  the  vast  sun  itself. 

Once  adjust  the  thirst  to  a  single  cup  of  water, 
and  the  mind  will  move  naturally  to  the  under- 
standing of  the  ocean  itself.  But  communion 
ceases  when  there  ceases  to  be  a  faculty  held  in 
common.  If  crimson  or  gold  to  the  artist  means 
black  to  the  beholder,  there  can  be  no  gallery. 
And  unless  duty,  penitence,  hope,  and  love  in 
men  stand  for  these  rich  qualities  in  God,  there 
can  be  no  relationship.  While  Tennyson  walked 


170  The  Higher  Nature  of  Man 

in  his  arbor  and  mused  aloud  over  his  "  In  Me- 
moriam,"  he  saw  a  caterpillar  crawling  up  his 
desk.  But  the  little  creature  understood  not  one 
whit  of  all  the  pathos  of  grief  and  weight  of 
love  that  the  poet  was  pouring  aloud  in  his 
sweet  song.  There  was  no  mental  chord  in  the 
worm  that  answered  to  the  chord  in  the  man. 
Could  Tennyson  have  endowed  the  worm  with 
reason  it  would  have  understood  his  thought ; 
with  taste  and  affection  it  would  have  sympa- 
thized with  his  grief ;  with  conscience  it  would 
have  understood  his  inspiring  prayer. 

Thus  communion  between  two  persons  means 
something  held  in  common.  Man  understands 
God  by  being  lower,  but  not  unlike  Him.  To  the 
degree  in  which  the  child  understands  his  father, 
he  duplicates  that  father.  In  the  higher  realm, 
to  the  degree  in  which  man  understands  God,  he 
duplicates  God.  Grown  gray  and  old,  reading  the 
story  of  the  prodigal  son,  Coleridge  sobbed  out : 
"  It  finds  me  ;  it  finds  me.  This  divine  book  is  a 
mould  that  fits  my  heart."  In  that  hour  Coleridge 
felt  that  man  was  a  miniature  edition  of  God. 
Cicero  argued  that  the  only  way  to  save  the  hope 
of  a  divine  revelation  was  to  elevate  man  to  God's 
dignity,  or  else  bemean  God  to  man's  level.  Her- 
schel  had  the  same  idea  when  he  said,  "The 


As  a  Revelation  of  God  171 

astronomer  thinks  out  God's  thoughts  after  Him." 
Agassiz  had  it  when  he  exclaimed,  "  The  geologist 
moves  along  paths  worn  deeply  by  the  divine  foot- 
prints." Jesus  Christ  summarized  all  when  He 
said  God  is  a  father  and  man  is  a  son.  His  rea- 
son, memory,  affection,  and  conscience  are  small 
and  imperfect,  to  be  sure,  but  they  answer  in  kind 
to  these  faculties  in  the  Divine  Being.  Man 
knows  God  because  he  is  near  to  Him. 

This  partaking  of  the  divine  nature  also  explains 
life's  rare  moments  when  great  thoughts  flush  the 
cheek  and  set  the  heart  leaping.  Then  "the 
vision  splendid"  dawns.  Then  the  moments  are 
big  with  destiny.  Then  we  seem  to  be  on  the 
edge  of  something.  Expectancy  stirs  within  us. 
Save  in  these  rare  hours  it  doth  not  appear  what 
man  is.  Just  as  an  apple  is  never  itself  until  the 
sun  strikes  it  through  and  through  with  crisp 
golden  ripeness,  so  the  soul  never  stands  forth 
in  its  real  majesty  save  in  its  luminous  moments 
and  nobler  moods.  It  is  said  a  picture  has  a 
right  to  be  judged  in  its  best  light.  Thus  the 
soul  has  a  right  to  be  judged,  not  by  what  it  is  at 
its  worst,  but  by  what  it  is  at  its  best.  There  are 
hours  when  the  mind  exhales  glorious  thoughts,  as 
a  fire  exhales  sparks.  These  moods  alone  reveal 
the  real  nature.  The  inherent  quality  of  Shake- 


172  The  Higher  Nature  of  Man 

speare's  mind  appears  only  in  his  greatest  drama ; 
his  poorer  plays  do  but  exhibit  to  us  how  poverty 
or  discouragement  fettered  his  genius  and  tired 
its  upward  flight. 

Call  to  mind  earth's  greatest  thinkers,  writers, 
inventors,  and  jurists.  Select  only  the  choicest 
qualities  of  these  persons  eminent  for  intellect  and 
heart,  and  Tennyson  says  the  germs  of  the  trans- 
cendent genius  are  latent  in  all  common  minds, 
and  will  at  last  come  to  their  fulfilment.  We  little 
know  what  is  in  man.  As  the  earth  sweeps  on 
with  vast  treasures  of  gold  and  gems  all  uncov- 
ered, so  men  move  forward  laden  with  treasures 
that  are  neither  explored  nor  suspected.  Lest  we 
wear  our  heart  upon  our  sleeve,  our  best  thoughts 
are  unspoken.  Our  deepest  aspirations  unfold 
only  in  solitude,  even  as  nightingales  give  out 
their  sweetest  songs  at  midnight,  while  the  great 
world  sleeps.  Now  and  then,  looking  up  quickly, 
we  see  a  great  something,  standing  in  the  eyes  of 
some  silent  man.  What  the  tongue  could  not 
speak  in  a  lifetime,  the  eye  has  revealed  in  a  sin- 
gle flash.  Multitudes  are  like  the  crystal  caves 
in  the  south.  Enter  them  with  a  torch,  and  the 
whole  interior  blazes  one  glorious  kingdom  of 
diamonds.  Yet  through  hundreds  of  years  men 
walked  above  all  unconscious  of  the  hidden  treas- 


As  a  Revelation  of  God  173 

ure.  Many  men  move  through  life  all  unrecog- 
nized by  their  fellows.  Many  women  carry  genius 
all  unsuspected.  Vision  hours  are  God's  torches, 
revealing  the  soul's  hidden  treasure.  The  ideals 
and  longings  of  the  soul  in  its  luminous  states  are 
overtures  from  God.  Mariners  sailing  over  the 
sunken  island  of  Atlantis  imagine  they  hear  the 
voices  rising  from  the  sunken  city.  Thus  there 
are  great  deep  convictions  lying  low  down  in  the 
hearts  of  men  that  ever  and  anon  send  up  mysteri- 
ous voices,  reminding  men  that  they  are  divine 
and  must  not  live  on  any  level  lower  than  God's. 
Even  in  human  sinfulness  wisdom  finds  argu- 
ments for  man's  divineness.  Horace  Bushnell 
thought  the  dignity  of  human  nature  may  be 
proved  by  the  majesty  of  its  ruins.  The  splendid 
magnitude  of  the  marble  heaps  in  ancient  Ephesus 
argues  the  beauty  of  that  once  peerless  temple  of 
Diana.  If  the  very  fragments  of  the  Parthenon 
are  the  despair  of  modern  sculptors,  how  supreme 
must  have  been  the  genius  of  Phidias.  The  mag- 
nificent recklessness  with  which  man  destroys 
witnesses  to  his  consciousness  of  his  skill  to 
create  afresh.  History  exhibits  man  as  lifting 
the  hammer  upon  the  ancient  statues,  turning 
the  temples  into  arsenals,  and  raging  through 
galleries  like  an  insane  and  destroying  angel. 


174  The  Higher  Nature  of  Man 

The  sustaining  thought  in  all  iconoclasm  is  that 
what  man  destroys,  man  can  again  create.  The 
very  depths  to  which  an  Alcibiades  or  Catiline 
falls  is  the  witness  of  the  height  to  which  the 
man  first  rose.  From  Loyola's  Inquisition,  with 
its  marvellous  instruments  of  torture,  we  argue  the 
splendid  latent  genius  the  man  carried,  as  a  prom- 
ise for  liberty  or  patriotism  or  religion.  Luxuri- 
ant weeds  argue  richness  of  soil  as  truly  as  do 
harvests.  The  very  agony  of  the  prodigal  son 
when  he  comes  to  swine  and  husks  and  rags  tells 
us  that  this  prodigal  boy  was  made  not  for  husks, 
but  for  the  apples  of  paradise,  not  for  rags,  but 
for  the  garments  of  God.  Goethe  summarizes  the 
argument  when  he  reminds  us  that  Faust  can  only 
be  as  devilish  actually  as  he  was  divine  potentially. 
The  scholar  saw  God's  thoughts  of  power  rush- 
ing into  stars  and  suns ;  His  thoughts  of  goodness 
rushing  into  harvests  and  fruits ;  His  thoughts  of 
beauty  rushing  into  faces  and  landscapes.  There 
is  also  much  in  man  that  suggests  a  similar  genius 
for  creation.  If  man's  body  is  so  weak  that  the 
clod  can  crush  it,  his  mind  seems  omnipotent. 
Before  man  entered  the  earthly  arena,  the  world 
was  only  a  mighty  engine  of  force  that  went  on 
grinding  end  clashing  and  destroying.  The  winds 
waxed  mighty,  the  lightnings  blazed  everywhither. 


As  a  Revelation  of  God  175 

Gravity  pulled  down  the  shrub  and  the  tree. 
Heat  and  cold  filled  the  earth  with  energy,  but  all 
to  no  purpose.  Then  man  came  to  match  himself 
against  the  wild  winds  and  the  ungoverned  forces, 
even  as  the  rider  pursues  the  wild  steeds  in  the 
plains  and  subdues  them  to  bit  and  bridle,  and 
compels  them  to  lend  their  strength  to  his  reins 
and  loins.  Man's  thought,  like  God's,  went  forth 
as  noiselessly  as  the  dew,  and  subdued  all  terrific 
forces  that  threatened  to  destroy  him. 

The  rivers  that  separated  men  became  high- 
ways that  united.  The  trade  winds  bore  his 
burdens.  The  lightning  flashing  along  his  path 
took  his  messages.  The  poisons  that  threatened 
him  became  balms  and  medicines  for  his  pains. 
Having  extracted  the  truth  out  of  this  planet,  Ss 
one  squeezes  the  juice  out  of  an  orange,  in  his 
thirst  for  new  facts,  man  went  ranging  through 
the  starry  worlds.  He  weighed  their  masses, 
analyzed  their  elements,  foretold  their  movements. 
Soon  the  astronomers  turned  the  Milky  Way  into 
a  race  track  for  their  mental  gymnastics.  By 
playing  off  one  force  against  another,  man  seems 
rapidly  approaching  the  time  when  he  will  be  the 
master  of  every  element  in  land  and  sea  and  sky. 
Now,  it  is  better  to  have  a  small  body  with  a 
mind  big  enough  to  master  the  worlds  than  to 


176  The  Higher  Nature  of  Man 

be  a  big  stone  planet  and  be  mastered  by  a 
single  mind.  Because  Newton's  genius  was 
superior  to  the  candle  flame  by  which  he  wrote, 
the  philosopher  was  superior  to  the  millions  of 
candle  flames  that  make  a  sun.  Nature's  laws 
incarnate  God's  thoughts,  and  man  finds  out 
these  laws  because  the  mind  of  the  discoverer 
matches  the  mind  of  the  Creator.  Nature  not 
only  mirrors  God's  face,  but  also  portrays  divine 
lineaments  in  man's  face. 

A  man's  divineness  also  appears  in  the  cross 
that  is  the  focal  point  of  human  history,  the 
spring  of  social  progress.  Calvary  has  been 
beautifully  defined  as  "God's  eulogy  on  man, 
written  in  letters  of  crimson,  the  temporal  dis- 
play of  God's  eternal  heartache."  It  is  man's 
infinite  worth  that  explains  that  wondrous  Being, 
who  lived  and  loved  and  died  upon  that  far-off 
hill  of  Galilee.  The  regard  and  esteem  Christ 
gives  man  matches  man's  worth.  A  man  is 
proud  of  the  wagon  he  makes,  but  man  loves 
his  child.  Things  God  makes  —  man  —  God 
loves.  The  prodigal  son  has  broken  his  father's 
heart,  and  we  are  prodigals.  All  the  wealth  of 
meaning  Calvary  holds  we  may  not  know. 

Theories  "judicial,"  theories  "commercial," 
theories  that  buy  God  from  wrath  to  mercy, 


As  a  Revelation  of  God  177 

theories  that  weigh  divine  goodness  over  against 
human  badness  —  all  these  are  broken  arcs  that 
cannot  contain  this  wondrous  circle  named  God's 
atoning  love.  And  we  utterly  despair  of  ever 
finding  any  theory  to  express  so  large  a  fact. 
But  we  know  that  the  mother  bears  the  child's 
sorrows  and  sickness,  and  at  last  his  vices  and 
sins.  We  know  that  the  patriot  pouring  his 
blood  out  on  the  battle-field  atones  for  the  sins 
of  his  fathers.  We  know  that  the  reformer  and 
philanthropist  who  bear  the  burdens  of  their 
suffering  fellows  arrest  the  progress  of  darkness. 
We  know  that  each  new  liberty  is  bought  with 
some  one's  martyrdom,  and  that  each  new  truth 
is  a  flame  that  consumes  its  prophet.  All  this 
there  was,  and  more,  in  that  wondrous  scene 
when  Christ  threw  wide  His  arms  to  lift  prodigal 
man  back  to  his  Father's  side. 


VIII 

©io  antr  tjje  Nefo  Conceptions  of  ffiotr 


"  This  earth  too  small 
For  Love  Divine?    Is  God  not  Infinite? 
If  so,  His  Love  is  Infinite.     Too  small! 
One  famished  babe  meets  pity  oft  from  Man 
More  than  an  army  slain!     Too  small  for  Love! 
Was  earth  too  small  to  be  of  God  created  ? 
Why  then  too  small  to  be  redeemed?" 

—  AUBREY  DE  VERE. 


i8c 


VIII 

THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  CONCEPTIONS  OF  GOD 

Every  man  paints  his  own  picture  of  God.  The  ideas  of 
God  as  measures  of  social  progress.  Each  new  knowledge 
or  virtue  a  window  looking  out  upon  the  realms  divine. 
Something  in  common  implied  in  all  friendship  and  revela- 
tion. Photographers  photograph  the  mountains  in  sections 
and  men  slowly  construct  a  full  conception  of  God.  The 
importance  of  right  thinking  regarding  the  Divine  Being. 
One's  thought  of  God  as  a  test  of  manhood.  Those  who 
think  of  God  as  force.  They  emphasize  omnipotence.  The 
motive  fear.  This  the  lowest  level  of  approach.  Those  who 
think  of  God  as  a  stream  of  tendency  toward  righteousness. 
They  emphasize  the  laws  of  nature.  The  governmental  con- 
ceptions of  deity  spring  up  in  the  age  of  feudalism.  God  as 
love.  The  divine  throne  the  throne  of  attraction  and  beauty. 
Childhood  develops  rich  associations  about  the  term  "father." 
The  riches  of  God.  The  name  of  God  ought  to  be  as  a 
granary,  storing  all  treasures  of  the  universe. 

T^VERY  man  paints  his  own  picture  of  God. 
•* — '  Speak  the  divine  name  into  a  thousand 
ears,  and  each  has  his  own  different  conception. 
Man  is  indeed  the  noblest  work  of  God,  and 
conversely  a  correct  idea  of  God  is  the  noblest 
work  of  man.  As  our  race  increases  in  knowl- 

181 


182  The  Old  and  the  New 

edge  and  wisdom,  its  ideas  of  God  are  corre- 
spondingly exalted.  Rude  and  savage  ages 
beheld  Him  as  a  huge  Hercules.  Afterward  as 
society  journeyed  away  from  its  sword  and  spear, 
it  left  behind  Zeus  of  the  iron  arm,  and  Jupiter 
of  the  avenging  heart.  Monarchical  ages  saw 
Him  as  a  sovereign  enthroned  behind  grim  gran- 
ite. Later,  when  laws  began  to  be  formulated, 
God  became  a  judge  who  loved  His  laws  and 
penalties  more  than  His  children.  During  the 
purely  scientific  epoch  men  revered  Him  as  an 
infinite  Newton  or  Copernicus,  lighting  star  lamps 
by  night  and  tending  sun  fires  by  day.  At 
length  has  dawned  a  day  when  the  throne  of 
marble  has  become  a  throne  of  mercy.  Taking 
its  stand  by  Jesus  Christ,  society  beholds  the 
name  of  God  clothed  with  wondrous  beauty  and 
attraction.  His  throne  is  now  a  glowing  tropic 
centre,  exhaling  benefactions  as  the  sun  scatters 
fruits  and  harvests.  Each  new  knowledge  and 
integrity  and  sweet  domestic  trait  has  become  a 
revelator,  opening  up  new  and  beautiful  concep- 
tions of  the  Divine  Being. 

History  tells  of  an  Italian  prince  who  fell  heir 
to  a  dark  and  gloomy  fortress.  Soon  he  cut 
windows  in  the  walls  that  he  might  look  south- 
ward upon  the  villages  and  vineyards  of  that 


Conceptions  of  God  183 

storied  land,  and  northward  upon  the  glorious 
mountains.  Then  the  inmates  of  the  place  of 
darkness  found  themselves  looking  out  upon  a 
landscape  of  great  beauty  and  delight.  Thus 
each  new  knowledge  and  virtue  is  a  window  in 
the  soul's  mansion,  through  which  man  looks  out 
upon  realms  divine.  The  true  yardstick,  there- 
fore, measuring  manhood,  is  one's  conception  of 
God.  As  wise  men  go  up  in  the  scale  of  wisdom 
and  become  citizens  of  the  universe  with  an  outlook 
upon  every  side  of  nature  and  life,  they  behold 
every  bush  blazing,  yet  unconsumed  with  the 
glory  of  God's  presence.  But  the  fool  says, 
"  There  is  no  God  at  all "  ;  a  very  proper  saying 
—  for  a  fool.  Emerson  tells  of  an  Abolition 
meeting  in  Boston,  when  a  politician  railed  at 
Sojourner  Truth.  When  the  man  sat  down  the 
tall  black  woman  arose,  and,  tapping  her  forehead 
very  significantly,  said  to  him,  "  Honey,  I  would 
tell  you  something,  but  I  see  you  ain't  got 
nothin'  to  carry  it  home  in."  There  can  be  no 
music  for  him  whose  hearing  vanishes  in  deaf- 
ness, and  the  universe  holds  no  God  for  him 
whose  wisdom  has  vanished  away  in  folly.  When 
Humboldt  mused  aloud  over  his  "  Cosmos,"  his 
favorite  dog  failed  to  understand  the  book. 
There  was  no  reason  or  memory  in  the  animal, 


184  The  Old  and  the  New 

that  answered  to  these  faculties  in  the  man. 
But  could  the  scientist  have  endowed  his  dog 
with  mind  the  animal  would  have  followed  his 
master's  argument ;  with  memory  it  would  have 
recalled  history ;  with  humor  it  would  have 
laughed  over  each  witticism,  and  with  each  new 
faculty  opened  up  in  the  dog  a  new  range  of 
Humboldt's  mind  would  have  passed  before  the 
animal's  sight.  Always  the  revelation  from  with- 
out implies  a  mind  from  within,  keyed  to  its 
level.  The  speaker  and  the  listener  must  have 
one  faculty  in  common.  The  water  and  fin,  the 
air  and  the  wing,  beauty  and  the  eye,  melody 
and  the  ear,  go  in  couplets.  The  eloquence  of 
Burke  asks  an  informed  hearer;  the  beauty  of 
Phidias  asks  a  refined  taste ;  the  wonder  of  truth 
and  goodness  in  God  asks  a  responsive  nerve  of 
truth  and  goodness  in  man.  For  the  impure, 
God  is  simply  invisible.  But  happy,  indeed,  are 
the  pure  in  heart.  Upon  them  hath  dawned  the 
beatific  vision.  They  see  God. 

To-day  all  reverent  scholarship  confesses  that 
man's  knowledge  of  God  is  far  from  exhaustive. 
Such  is  the  weight  and  wealth  of  the  divine 
mentality  that  we  know  only  in  part.  The  rea- 
sons for  this  fragmentary  knowledge  are  not  far 
to  seek.  In  his  reflections  Job  tells  us  that  all 


Conceptions  of  God  185 

the  glory  of  land  and  sea  and  sky  are  only 
the  whisperings  of  God's  being,  while  the  full 
thunder  of  His  power  is  yet  to  be  revealed. 
Those  artists  in  Switzerland  whose  life  work  it  is 
to  photograph  the  Alps  tell  us  that  the  mountains 
are  too  large  for  their  cameras.  They  take  the 
Matterhorn  in  sections.  Afterward,  by  combin- 
ing these  partial  views,  they  obtain  the  new  and 
complete  picture.  Thus  the  genius  of  God  is 
such  that  each  red  rose,  each  golden  cloud,  each 
perfumed  wind,  each  tropic  forest,  and  each  moun- 
tain height  can  only  portray  one  narrow  section 
of  God's  wisdom  and  beauty.  Using  new  tests, 
scientists  have  discovered  certain  dark  rays  beside 
the  spectrum,  rays  all  undetected  by  man's  rude 
eyes.  Thus  in  every  department  of  nature  science 
exhibits  man's  senses  as  too  few  and  too  feeble 
for  exhaustive  knowledge.  We  have  twilight 
gleams,  but  no  noonday  wisdom.  Moreover,  tem- 
perament limits  knowledge.  Each  mind  looks 
upon  the  truth  from  its  own  angle.  He  who 
gives  years  to  strengthening  his  talent  for  music 
ends  with  an  enfeebled  appreciation  of  color. 
Wordsworth  loved  poetry,  but  hated  logic  and 
philosophy.  When  Newton  was  asked  which  of 
his  discoveries  he  thought  greatest  he  could  not 
recall  them,  so  fickle  was  his  memory,  but  his 


186  The  Old  and  the  New 

powerful  intellect  could  dissolve  the  present 
problem.  Each  year  the  college  faculties  have 
to  excuse  from  mathematics  a  few  students  who, 
excelling  in  language  and  literature,  are  helpless  to 
comprehend  a  simple  problem  in  Euclid.  History 
exhibits  no  "  all-round  men,"  in  the  full  sense  of 
that  term.  Each  scholar  must  choose  some  little 
section  for  his  province,  knowing  that  its  mastery 
will  ask  his  full  three  score  years  and  ten.  For 
the  tallest  the  horizon  is  but  nine  miles  away. 
Our  world  is  so  vast  that  no  foot  can  visit  each 
shrine ;  no  mind  can  record  all  beauty  with  pen 
or  brush.  The  human  hand  was  made  for  a  single 
bouquet,  not  to  hold  the  forest.  The  finite  foot 
can  never  overtake  infinite  beauty.  Evermore 
man  knows  "but  in  part." 

The  seer  tells  us  that  the  importance  of  a 
correct  idea  of  God  is  beyond  all  computation. 
Passing  in  review  earth's  great  ones,  he  found 
one  form  of  manhood  exalted  above  all  others 
whatsoever.  It  was  said  of  the  worshippers  of 
Diana  that  men  threw  their  offerings  at  the 
feet  of  the  goddess  because  the  human  arm  was 
too  short  to  enable  the  worshipper  to  place  his 
garland  upon  the  forehead.  With  similar  feeling 
the  seer  said,  "Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in 
his  wisdom,  nor  the  rich  man  in  his  wealth,  nor 


Conceptions  of  God  187 

the  strong  man  in  his  might."  Earth  can  reach 
and  crown  all  these  forms  of  excellence.  But 
there  is  a  ground  of  glory  and  personal  satisfac- 
tion higher  than  these,  or  than  all  others  whatso- 
ever, i.e.  that  a  man  has  carried  his  manhood  up 
to  such  ripeness  of  faculty  and  breadth  of  out- 
look, as  that  the  great  God  rises  before  the  soul's 
horizon  in  unexampled  splendor.  That  lofty  shape 
of  soul  is  such  that  man  can  only  whisper  words 
of  homage  at  the  feet,  while  God  alone  doth  crown 
the  brow.  Not  but  that  wisdom  in  the  poet  and 
scholar  is  praiseworthy ;  happy  he  who  by  read- 
ing, conversation,  and  travel  has  gleaned  knowl- 
edge in  every  field.  Not  but  that  wealth  in  the 
rich  man  is  admirable ;  produced  by  industry, 
conserved  by  economy,  multiplied  by  thrift,  it  is 
an  almoner  of  universal  bounty,  the  patron  of  art, 
education,  liberty,  and  religion  itself.  Strength, 
too,  in  the  man  of  oak  and  rock  is  worthy  of  the 
highest  ambition.  But  all  these  are  secondary 
qualities  and  acquirements.  It  was  well  for  the 
orator  Cicero  that  he  had  three  villas  and  a  city 
house,  but  his  riches  were  subordinate.  What  he 
prided  himself  on  was  his  eloquence.  It  was  well 
for  Dante  that  he  was  skilful  with  the  harp,  but 
what  he  rejoiced  in  was  his  poetry,  by  which  he 
climbed  to  heaven  and  passed  through  paradise. 


188  The  Old  and  the  New 

It  is  a  laudable  ambition  for  each  young  man  to 
aspire  to  be  an  Apollo  in  strength,  a  Socrates  in 
wisdom,  a  Croesus  in  wealth,  but  all  these  are 
secondary  qualities.  A  man's  real  riches  is  his 
heart  treasure,  garnered  by  the  soul  and  not 
the  body.  In  the  last  analysis,  a  man  who 
is  great  toward  men  and  things  is  like  one  who 
stands  on  the  foothills  of  the  Alps  and  looks 
down  upon  Florence ;  but  he  who  is  great 
toward  God  is  like  one  who  has  climbed  to  the 
topmost  peak  of  the  Alps,  and  from  thence  looks 
out  on  all  Italy  and  Europe.  Happy  is  he  who 
to  every  form  of  earthly  excellence  hath  carried 
his  spiritual  nature  up  to  such  eminence  as  that 
he  looks  out  upon  God  and  realms  divine. 

First  is  that  class  of  men  who  think  of  God 
as  force,  and  are  therefore  ruled  by  motives  of 
fear.  For  all  such  God  is  the  mighty  thunderer. 
Omnipotence  sits  in  the  centre  of  the  universe, 
and  the  earth  trembles  under  His  footsteps  ;  His 
storms  mow  down  forests ;  His  winds  sink  war- 
ships like  eggshells ;  His  quakings  shake  down 
the  cities.  From  these  movements  in  nature,  rude 
races  think  they  can  interpret  God's  mind  and 
heart.  Thus  the  sun  is  the  shining  of  His  eye ; 
the  peaceful  morn  indicates  His  pleasure ;  the 
storm  gathering  in  the  evening  sky  represents 


Conceptions  of  God  189 

His  anger;  the  tree  shattered  by  the  thunderbolt 
has  incurred  His  wrath ;  the  house  blackened  by 
fire  has  merited  His  displeasure  ;  the  city  ruined 
by  storm  was  blasted  by  His  curse.  The  time 
was  when  the  great  majority  of  men  held  this 
conception  of  force,  and  even  to-day  multitudes 
are  still  governed  by  motives  of  fear.  But  of 
necessity  the  nature  of  the  object  to  be  governed 
determines  the  methods  of  its  control.  God  gov- 
erns dead  things  by  force ;  the  channel  controls 
the  river,  and  gravity  the  rocks.  Living  things 
are  controlled  by  fear;  the  lark  and  the  lion  are 
kept  in  their  places  by  dread.  Man,  standing  at 
the  summit  of  creation,  is  governed  by  hope  and 
love. 

It  is  only  when  he  denies  the  higher  law 
that  he  passes  under  the  dominion  of  fear  and 
force.  When  the  drunkard  benumbs  his  mind 
with  drink,  and  makes  himself  a  mere  log,  force 
holds  his  body  in  one  spot.  When  man  becomes 
an  animal  and  passes  under  the  law  of  appetite 
and  passion,  fear  governs  him.  For  each  Judas 
and  Macbeth,  volcanic  fires  within  and  blazing 
lightnings  without  represent  the  inner  smitings 
of  conscience  and  the  outer  penalties  of  broken 
laws.  Each  man  decides  for  himself  at  what  level 
he  will  approach  God.  The  government  of  fear 


190  The  Old  and  the  New 

is  a  low  and  mean  method  of  control,  but  it  is 
better  than  no  government  at  all.  If  one  will 
not  be  reached  by  persuasions  of  right  and  duty 
of  love,  then  he  must  be  reached  through  the 
flesh  and  the  blow  that  smites  it.  For  the  indi- 
vidual and  the  race  living  a  rude  and  animal 
life,  fears  are  provocatives  to  progress.  The  fear 
of  hunger  compels  the  lazy  forest  man  to  plough 
and  sow ;  the  fear  of  snow  and  winter  forces  the 
shiftless  man  to  build  ;  the  fear  of  public  opinion 
makes  brutal  men  decent ;  the  fear  of  old  age 
and  want  makes  idle  men  thrifty.  But  if  fear  is 
a  civilizing  force,  its  influence  is  very  limited. 
When  the  husbandman  plants  the  seed  he  asks 
help  from  the  winter.  Then  the  frost  drives 
wedges  and  splits  away  the  shell.  Once  that  is 
done,  the  dominion  of  the  cold  is  ended.  Winter 
has  no  power  to  awaken  the  sleeping  germ.  Only 
the  sun  with  its  secret  stimulus  can  arouse  the 
sleeping  life.  Thus  fear  is  a  force  that  can 
release  man  from  his  animal  fetters.  But  only 
the  higher  influences  of  love  can  lend  life  and 
stimulate  toward  growth. 

Higher  in  the  scale  are  those  who  think  of 
the  universe  as  a  vast  mechanism  of  laws  and 
forces.  For  all  these  God  is  "the  tendency 
toward  righteousness."  Looking  outward,  men 


Conceptions  of  God  191 

find  themselves  moving  forward  under  the  em- 
brace of  laws ;  laws  of  light  and  heat,  laws  of 
seedtime  and  harvest,  laws  of  birth  and  growth. 
These  laws  are  organized  thoughts ;  they  think 
for  men,  they  offer  grooves  for  his  activities.  By 
law  order  is  maintained  in  the  world  house  and 
plenty  abounds,  by  law  the  white  mists  rise 
from  the  sea,  by  law  the  night  wind  marshals 
the  clouds  in  battalions,  by  law  the  rain  columns 
march  westward,  by  law  the  rich  showers  fall, 
by  law  the  mountain  springs  feed  the  rivers, 
by  law  the  rivers  feed  the  sea  whence  they 
came,  by  law  the  sea  is  never  full.  But  these 
laws  of  rivers  and  soils  and  forests  and  stars 
are  impotent  to  account  for  life's  higher  prob- 
lems. Science  has  rendered  it  impossible  to 
explain  that  symbol  of  modern  civilization,  the 
morning  newspaper,  by  referring  the  wheels  to 
iron  ore,  the  type  to  lead  mines,  the  paper  to 
flax  fields,  and  the  steam  to  the  fire  and  water 
from  which  it  sprang.  Reason  asks  us  to  refer 
the  mechanism  to  an  intelligence  that  brought 
iron  and  lead  together  in  the  printing-press,  and 
brought  words  together  so  as  to  make  argu- 
ments. In  man's  attempt  to  account  for  the 
universe,  natural  law  has  been  sadly  overworked. 
The  burdens  laid  on  have  broken  the  back. 


192  The  Old  and  the  New 

A  traveller,  whose  journey  in  India  must  have 
been  imaginary,  tells  of  a  magician  who  waved 
his  wonder-working  wand  over  the  mouth  of  a 
little  jug,  when  lo !  a  sprite  came  forth  who 
swelled  into  a  man's  stature.  Then  the  man 
planted  seeds  and  led  them  forth  to  blossom 
and  fruit  before  the  wondering  spectators.  Obe- 
dient to  a  signal,  he  shrank  his  trees  into  seeds, 
and  making  himself  a  sprite,  disappeared  within 
the  jug.  But  this  necromancy  is  as  nothing 
compared  to  the  wonders  wrought  by  that  form 
of  philosophy  that,  asking  only  a  pot  of  ink  and 
a  steel  pen,  evokes  dramas,  symphonies,  cathe- 
drals, constitutions,  nations,  planets,  and  suns 
by  a  mere  method  of  activity  called  laws.  All 
these  and  similar  conceptions  are  impotent  to 
satisfy  human  reason.  Moreover,  they  have  no 
power  for  exalted  life  and  character.  The  patriot 
will  die  for  wife  and  babies  and  country,  but  not 
for  philosophic  mist  and  moonshine.  Well  may 
Martineau  ask  whether  any  publican  smiting 
upon  his  breast  will  leave  his  heart  burdens 
behind  and  go  away  in  peace  after  a  prayer  to 
the  "Eternal  not  ourselves  that  makes  for 
righteousness."  Will  any  crucified  one  lose  the 
bitterness  of  death  in  crying,  "  O  stream  of 
tendency,  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit "  ? 


Conceptions  of  God  193 

And  to  the  martyr  stoned  to  death  will  any 
heaven  open,  will  any  vision  come,  when  he 
exclaims,  "Great  Ensemble  of  Humanity,  receive 
me "  ?  Recent  events  are  rendering  it  certain 
that  the  modern  thinkers  are  tired  of  giving 
their  devotions  to  the  night  wind.  Many  are 
returning  to  their  rest  to  say,  "  O  thou  once 
Unknown  One,  I  thank  thee  that  thou  hast 
hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent, 
and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes." 

The  governmental  conceptions  of  Deity  exhibit 
Him  as  a  God  of  judgment  and  penalty.  His 
throne  is  the  throne  of  the  monarch,  His  rule 
is  the  rule  of  one  whose  will  is  law.  This 
view  goes  back  to  the  Middle  Ages,  and  sprang 
out  of  what  men  saw  about  them.  In  that 
far-off  time  feudalism  reigned  supreme.  The 
centre  of  civilization  was  the  castle  and  the 
prince  within  it.  Approaching  that  fortress,  one 
came  first  of  all  to  a  huge  wall.  Beyond  was 
the  moat  filled  with  water,  threatening  each 
besieger.  Then  came  another  wall,  with  ram- 
parts and  towers  and  cannon  surmounting  it. 
The  drawbridge  was  studded  with  iron  points. 
At  length  philosophers  found  in  the  rule  of  the 
monarch  the  type  and  symbol  of  the  govern- 
ment of  God.  The  Divine  One  surrounded  Him- 


194  The  Old  and  the  New 

self  with  a  huge  webwork  of  laws  so  ingeniously 
constructed  that  no  transgressor  could  escape. 
His  throne  became  a  thing  of  vast  proportions, 
with  artillery  and  laws  and  penalties.  Its  foun- 
dations were  stone ;  the  walls  of  His  palace  were 
stone;  the  windows  through  which  Deity  looked 
were  stone ;  one  tiny  light  did  indeed  flash  out 
from  the  top  —  the  lamp  of  love,  but  that  star 
shone  only  for  an  elect  few.  Dwelling  under  such 
conceptions,  men  fulfilled  the  law  from  motives 
of  necessity  and  self-preservation.  To  do  wrong 
was  to  be  damned ;  rather  than  be  damned  they 
would  do  right.  Obedience  became  a  form  of 
refined  self-interest.  The  fear  of  Satan  below, 
not  the  love  of  God  above,  draws  men  toward 
the  heavenly  heights.  Xenophon  tells  us  that 
behind  the  mercenary  troops  went  the  driver 
with  his  whip.  Each  squad  was  urged  forward 
by  the  whip  and  scourge,  and  the  victory  came 
not  from  love  of  country,  but  from  dread  of  the 
stinging  blows.  But  our  patriots  marched  unto 
death,  drawn  forward  by  love  of  honor  and 
country.  Strange  that  for  some  the  movement 
toward  God  is  a  flight  before  the  penalties  of 
law  and  justice.  How  ignoble  such  motives ! 
The  musician  pursues  his  studies,  not  through 
dread  of  discord,  but  love  of  harmony ;  the 


Conceptions  of  God  195 

artist  pupil  advances,  not  because  of  a  revulsion 
from  ugliness,  but  a  love  of  beauty.  "Jonathan 
Edwards  makes  me  fear  and  tremble,"  said  Haw- 
thorne, "but  Jesus  Christ  makes  me  hope  and 
love."  The  one  hurried  the  pilgrim  forward  by 
planting  nettles  in  the  path ;  the  other  allured 
the  soul  upward  by  making  the  way  very  beauti- 
ful, thick  with  wayside  flowers,  winding  by 
lovely  streams,  yet  leading  straight  to  Paradise. 
Travellers  in  Yucatan  tell  of  valleys  from  which 
man  long  since  marched  away,  leaving  his  palaces 
to  owls  and  bats  and  giving  over  his  gardens 
to  the  ivy  and  the  cactus.  The  vales  were  very 
rich,  the  climate  was  soft  and  fair.  But  man 
left  behind  this  terrestrial  paradise  to  journey 
northward  under  a  cold,  bleak  sky.  Oh,  fatal 
mistake !  like  that  of  men  who  have  exchanged 
the  tutelage  of  a  father's  love  and  sympathy 
for  the  iron  rule  of  law  and  justice. 

According  to  the  sublime  view  of  Jesus  Christ, 
"God  is  love."  Therein  all  conceptions  of  Deity 
have  their  climax  and  consummation.  For  His 
love  includes  all  force,  justice,  duty,  providence ; 
it  gathers  up  whatever  is  true  in  all  other  views ; 
it  completes  that  which  is  fragmentary.  Through 
Christ  the  unknown  ceases  to  be  mere  brightness 
without  central  orb  or  nucleus ;  the  Arch-thun- 


196  The  Old  and  the  New 

derer  becomes  a  marvel  of  gentleness  and  ten- 
derness ;  the  Silent  One  is  no  longer  without 
voice  or  vision.  O  beautiful  teaching !  clothing 
the  Divine  One  with  power  because  strength 
alone  can  be  gentle;  clothing  Him  with  justice 
because  justice  is  an  inflection  of  mercy ;  sur- 
rounding Him  with  laws  and  penalties  because 
His  penalties  are  medicines  and  His  laws  are 
divine  pathways  leading  to  happiness  and  peace. 
Jesus  Christ  caused  His  Father  to  stand  forth 
in  an  alluring  atmosphere  of  strength  and  gen- 
tleness, of  generosity  and  magnanimity.  Then 
His  throne  was  clothed  with  wondrous  attrac- 
tion. He  stood  forth  possessed  of  such  unex- 
ampled richness  of  mind  and  heart  as  that 
whatever  is  admirable  or  striking  or  beautiful 
in  nature  or  life  must  be  laid  under  contribu- 
tion and  used  as  an  alphabet  for  interpreting 
His  riches.  To  all  other  alluring  and  illuminat- 
ing names,  Christ  added  that  of  Father,  a  name 
with  that  of  mother  that  showers  all  sweet 
memories  and  suggestions  upon  the  human  soul. 
Thereby  Christ  opened  up,  as  it  were,  a  heart 
throbbing  within  love  itself.  The  soul  is  a  harp, 
and  every  string  vibrates  sweet  melodies  when 
the  parental  names  are  struck.  The  mother 
love  hovers  over  the  cradle  as  the  Star  of  the 


Conceptions  of  God  197 

East  stood  over  the  sacred  manger.  Human 
nature  is  never  so  nearly  divine  as  when  the 
cradle  becomes  a  temple,  and  the  babe  is  a 
divinity  for  those  who  brood  above  it. 

For  that  little,  unheeding,  impotent  bundle, 
the  mere  seed  of  life,  the  mother  heart  pours 
out  all  the  royal  tides  of  love,  asking  no  reward 
save  the  opportunity  of  nourishing  it  out  of 
nothingness  and  littleness  into  largeness  and 
beauty.  And  though  in  later  life  the  child, 
through  deceit  and  flattery,  goes  astray,  and 
flees  from  home  only  to  be  shattered  and 
wrecked,  yet  the  sacred  tide  of  love  still  flows 
on,  and  the  golden  thread  of  love  unrolling  and 
still  unrolling  holds  the  child  fast  and  draws  it 
back  out  of  all  the  confusion  and  storm.  Hav- 
ing borne  the  child's  sicknesses  and  infancy, 
having  carried  its  ignorance  and  disobedience  in 
youth,  at  length  the  parent  bears  its  follies  and 
vices,  and  even  its  crimes.  Between  the  cradle 
and  the  grave  there  is  not  a  single  hour  when 
the  parental  heart  will  not  open  wide  the  arms 
to  protect  the  child  by  reason  of  the  great  love 
she  bears  it.  And  Jesus  Christ  asks  the  word 
Father  and  all  the  tender  and  sweet  associations 
of  childhood  to  interpret  God  unto  men.  He 
asked  men  to  sit  down  by  the  stream  of  memory 


198  Tbe  Old  and  the  New 

as  by  the  river  of  water  of  life,  and  through 
the  image  of  parents  loving  and  beloved  inter- 
pret God's  glowing,  glorious  mind  and  heart. 
For  His  love  includes  the  love  of  friend  and 
companion  and  parent  and  is  more  than  all. 
He  is  above  the  soul  as  the  heavens  overarch 
the  fields,  filling  the  fruits  with  heat  by  day  and 
the  flowers  with  cooling  dews  by  night. 

When  that  astronomer  returned  from  a  long 
journey  through  the  stellar  spaces  he  cried  out, 
"Truly  our  God  is  a  great  God,  for  the  glory 
of  the  heavens  and  the  handiwork  of  the  earth 
are  but  His  outer  garments."  The  sun  itself  is 
not  to  God's  greatness  what  a  diamond  ring  is 
to  a  man.  Vast  indeed  is  the  world  house. 
Most  beautiful  all  its  appointments.  But  the 
infinite  mind  that  fashioned  and  the  all-loving 
Providence  that  adorned  are  a  thousand  fold  more 
than  the  material  house.  He  who  is  the  world 
householder  is  also  the  world  Father.  But  each 
pilgrim  child  may  approach  God  at  whatsoever 
level  he  pleases.  The  traitor  drew  near  to  our 
martyred  Lincoln  as  to  a  judge ;  the  soldier 
came  seeking  orders  ;  the  secretary  came  for 
mandates,  but  Tad,  the  dying  child,  stretching 
up  his  arms  drew  near  to  a  father's  heart. 

Not  otherwise  will  all  high  and  low  soon  close 


Conceptions  of  God  199 

the  eyes  to  the  wondrous  earthly  scene.  Happy 
all  those  before  whom  the  Name  Divine  stands 
forth  in  lustrous  beauty  and  attraction.  Happy 
those  who  behold  bud,  bird,  cloud,  sunbeam,  to 
find  therein  steps  of  a  golden  ladder  leading  up 
to  God.  Thrice  happy  those  who  feel  that  the 
regent  of  universal  nature  is  also  the  Father 
who  indeed  forgives  and  guides,  but  who  also 
makes  all  laws  and  forces  almoners  of  bounty  to 
His  child,  shaking  down  each  day  the  boughs  of 
infinite  love,  each  night  in  vision  hours  setting 
the  heart  throbbing  with  surging  tides,  until  the 
whole  being  is  full  of  longing  for  the  waiting 
kingdom  of  love.  For  then  that  name  —  God, 
granaries  all  the  treasures  of  our  universe. 
God's  name  is  a  garden  filled  with  sweet  shrubs 
and  perfumed  fruits.  God's  name  is  a  gallery 
stored  with  novel  pictures  of  the  past ;  it  is  a 
jewel  case  in  which  flash  all  gems  of  precious 
thought ;  it  is  a  cathedral  through  which  the 
weary  generations  pass ;  it  is  a  medicine  chest 
holding  all  balms  and  remedies ;  it  is  a  belfry 
from  which  angels  ring  out  all  celestial  chimes. 
God's  name  is  love ;  God's  mercies  are  medi- 
cines; God's  thought  is  man's  providence;  God's 
heart  is  man's  refuge  and  eternal  home. 


IX 


lEbolutton   ano   Cfjrtettanttjj :  lEfoerjj  Cfjeorg 
of  Uebelopment  asfes  for  an  Infinite 
to  mafee  tfje  Cijeorg  SEorftatile 


"Evolution  is  the  working  hypothesis  of  most  scientific 
men  at  the  present  time.  In  no  branch  of  science  is  it  with- 
out influence,  and  in  the  sciences  which  deal  with  life  it 
is  dominant.  We  cannot  escape  from  it.  Its  technical 
phrases  have  become  parts  of  current  common  speech ;  and 
such  words  as  'natural  selection,'  the  'struggle  for  exist- 
ence,1 and  the  '  survival  of  the  fittest '  are  on  the  lips  of 
every  one.  It  does  not  matter  to  what  sphere  of  human 
work  we  turn,  for  in  all  alike  we  meet  with  the  same  mental 
atmosphere.  Are  we  students  of  physics  or  chemistry,  we 
have  no  sooner  mastered  the  elements  of  the  science  than  we 
are  plunged  into  questions  which  deal  with  the  'evolution1' 
of  the  'atom'  or  the  'molecule'  from  simpler  forms  of  matter. 
Do  we  study  mechanics,  then  we  are  brought  into  a  sphere 
where  men  talk  of  the  evolution  of  the  steam  engine  or  of 
some  other  machine  which  has  slowly  grown  from  less  to 
more  till  it  has  reached  its  present  state.  Are  we  students 
of  man,  then  we  become  accustomed  to  inquiries  into  the 
evolution  of  the  family,  of  marriage,  of  the  community,  of  the 
state.  Morality  is  evolved,  religion  also."  "It  is  grand  and 
ennobling  to  sweep  back  in  thought  across  the  hundred  mill- 
ion years  or  so  which  separate  us  from  the  time  when  our 
earth  was  only  vapor,  and  to  be  led  on  from  that  point  of 
time,  through  all  the  intervening  ages,  as  one  science  after 
another  guides  our  footsteps,  until  we  arrive  at  the  complex, 
differentiated,  integrated  world  of  the  present  time,  with  its 
life,  intelligence,  ethics,  religion,  science,  art,  and  to  have  some 
understanding  of  the  process  whereby  this  has  come  out  of 
that.  But  we  may  still  have  the  rapture  and  the  admiration ; 
we  may  admire  and  so  far  revere  and  be  thankful  for  the 
work  done  in  the  service  of  evolution,  and  yet  withhold  that 
final  sacrifice  demanded  in  her  name." 

—  PROFESSOR  INVERACH. 


202 


IX 


EVOLUTION  AND  CHRISTIANITY:  EVERY  THEORY  OF 
DEVELOPMENT  ASKS  FOR  AN  INFINITE  GOD  TO 
MAKE  THE  THEORY  WORKABLE 

Evolution  a  vision  of  the  possible  method  by  which  God 
secures  progress  for  man  and  nature.  The  story  of  the 
ascent  of  man.  The  number  of  the  epochs  in  the  world's 
history  increases  the  difficulty  of  the  problem.  Evolution  at 
first  materialistic,  now  theistic.  With  few  exceptions,  the 
great  scientists  have  become  Christian.  Fiske,  Romanes, 
Mivart.  Evolution  the  friend,  not  foe,  of  religion.  Three 
views  of  the  universe.  Atheism,  pantheism,  agnosticism. 
Divine  immanence.  Evolution  and  the  idea  of  God.  Evo- 
lution and  the  origin  of  man.  Evolution  and  conscience. 
Evolution  and  sin.  The  law  of  force  become  the  law  of  love. 
Evolution  and  immortality.  The  reasonableness  of  God's 
universe.  Christ  the  supreme  revelation. 

INVOLUTION  is  a  vision  of  the  possible 
-• — '  method  by  which  God  secures  progress  for 
man  and  nature.  It  is  a  history  of  the  divine 
footprints  and  the  story  of  the  ascent  of  man.  In 
strangely  thrilling  words  it  tells  us  how  a  ball  of 
fire  became  a  home  for  God's  children  ;  how  stones 
became  soil ;  how  seeds  became  forests  and  vine- 
yards ;  how  huts  became  houses  and  tents  temples  ; 

203 


204  Evolution  and  Christianity: 

how  rude,  hard  sounds  became  eloquent  speech  ; 
how  signs  and  hieroglyphics  became  language  and 
literature.  Just  as  conversation  is  necessary  to 
man  with  his  unfolding  thoughts,  so  evolution 
exhibits  the  world  with  its  valleys  and  hills,  its 
harvests  and  cities,  with  its  stars  and  rolling  suns, 
as  necessary  to  God  and  His  unfolding  genius. 

Champollion  spent  twenty  years  in  trying  to 
decipher  the  rude  signs  upon  the  tombs  of  Egypt, 
before  he  found  the  key  to  the  hieroglyphics.  But, 
small,  indeed,  the  tombs  and  temples  of  Thebes 
seem  in  contrast  with  the  pages  in  great  nature's 
book.  Unfortunately,  also,  the  scientist's  task 
has  been  rendered  increasingly  difficult  in  that 
many  of  the  rock  pages  have  been  sadly  injured, 
the  writing  strangely  blurred,  while  the  language 
is  neither  clear  nor  simple.  Also  the  number  and 
vastness  of  the  epochs  in  the  world's  history  mul- 
tiply problems  for  the  student.  It  is  a  long  way 
from  a  grain  of  sand  to  the  red  rose ;  farther  yet 
from  a  bird  to  Plato  and  his  idea  of  immortality. 
Only  once  in  aeons  does  Nature  turn  a  new  leaf  in 
her  gigantic  book.  A  thousand  ages,  and  the  ball 
of  fire  cools ;  a  thousand  ages,  and  a  little  soil 
appears  ;  a  thousand  ages,  and  the  forests  rise  in 
ranks  and  layers  of  coal  appear ;  then  at  intervals 
of  a  thousand  ages  each  appear  the  tiny  fish,  the 


Development  205 

rude  saurian,  the  bird,  the  beast,  and  at  last  man, 
evermore  unrivalled. 

In  a  universe  so  vast,  scholars  long  have  wan- 
dered, lost  like  children  in  a  dense  wood,  yet  ever 
seeking  some  clew  to  the  divine  method  of  crea- 
tion. The  geologist  has  unceasingly  asked  by 
what  furnaces  of  fire  the  earth  has  been  melted  ; 
by  what  wheels  of  earthquakes  it  has  been  torn ; 
by  what  chisels  of  ice  it  was  engraven  into  its 
final  form.  The  botanist  patiently  watched  the 
wild  rice  developing  into  the  stalk  of  wheat,  and 
the  rose  wild  and  pink  becoming  double  and  of 
many  colors.  The  astronomer  studied  Saturn 
with  its  evolving  rings  of  fire.  The  archaeologist 
studied  museums  and  the  sites  of  old  cities.  The 
historian  studied  man  as  he  mastered  the  use  of 
fire,  invented  his  first  boat,  tamed  the  first  wild 
horse,  harnessed  the  steam  to  his  plough.  Thus 
through  many  centuries  scholars  have  been  moving 
forward,  each  along  his  own  appointed  path.  At 
length,  just  as  the  exploring  parties  searching  out 
the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi  suddenly  found 
themselves  coming  together  and  within  hailing 
distance  of  each  other,  so  of  late  all  the  highways 
of  knowledge  have  been  rapidly  converging  toward 
the  central  point,  and,  looking  up,  scholars  have 
signalled  one  to  another,  and  the  secret  that  trem- 


206  Evolution  and  Christianity : 

bled  upon  the  lips  of  one  proved  to  be  the  dis- 
covery of  all  —  evolution  is  the  key  that  reveals 
the  method  of  God  in  nature. 

We  are  told  that  when  Columbus's  voyage  for 
testing  his  theory  of  the  earth's  roundness  drew 
near  the  end,  and  it  became  evident  that  the  new 
continent  would  establish  his  brilliant  hypothesis, 
the  great  voyager  became  so  agitated  as  to  be 
compelled  to  give  to  another  officer  the  command  of 
the  ship,  for  which  his  agitation  made  him  unequal. 
Thus  the  burst  of  a  sudden  discovery,  the  solution 
of  a  world-long  problem,  has  come  to  our  genera- 
tion charged  with  a  meaning  in  excess  of  human 
strength.  After  long  wanderings  over  a  dark  and 
trackless  sea  of  doubt  and  mystery,  at  last  the 
cloud  has  passed  from  the  pole  star  of  our  world. 
Overcome  by  the  magnitude  of  the  supreme 
moment  of  discovery,  a  few  scholars  have  permitted 
the  law  to  obscure  the  Law-maker.  For  the  mo- 
ment the  sunbeam,  by  very  brightness,  has  obliter- 
ated the  sun.  But  if  there  was  an  evolution  that 
was  atheistic  and  based  in  materialism,  the  evolu-' 
tion  that  now  is,  is  theistic,  and  increasingly 
Christian. 

Of  John  Fiske,  Charles  Darwin  wrote,  Than  him 
we  have  no  stronger,  clearer  exponent.  But  John 
Fiske  seems  to  think  that  science  is  to  help  bring 


Development  207 

a  greater  revival  of  Christianity  than  that  which 
built  the  cathedrals  of  Europe  in  the  thirteenth 
century.  Herbert  Spencer  has  given  no  student 
higher  praise  than  Romanes.  But  it  was  evolution 
that  led  Romanes,  the  agnostic,  to  those  "altar 
stairs  that  slope  through  darkness  up  to  God," 
and  made  him  in  his  last  book  say,  Science  is 
moving  with  all  the  force  of  a  tidal  wave  toward 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  world's  Saviour.  The 
physicist,  the  biologist,  the  students  of  force  and 
life  alike,  in  reverent  voice  have  spoken  to  God 
and  said,  "  O  Father,  where  art  Thou  ? "  And 
out  of  rock  and  wave,  out  of  herb  and  flower,  has 
come  a  voice  answering,  "God  is  here."  The. 
earth  cries  unto  the  heavens,  "God  is  here"; 
the  heavens  cry  to  the  earth,  "  God  is  here."  The 
land  hath  Him,  the  sea  claims  Him,  the  clouds 
are  His  chariots.  Sitting  upon  the  circle  of  the 
earth,  He  draweth  all  things  upward  in  ever 
increasing  cycles  of  knowledge  and  goodness  and 
love. 

Strangely  enough  the  doctrine  of  evolution  has 
provoked  bitter  antagonism.  Multitudes  fear  that 
it  means  waste  and  destruction.  Misunderstand- 
ing, they  shiver  lest  it  will  relegate  religion  to  the 
limbo  of  exploded  superstitions.  But  just  here  we 
remember  that  the  announcement  of  the  theory  of 


208  Evolution  and  Christianity: 

gravitation  threw  Newton's  generation  into  a  per- 
fect panic  of  fear.  All  now  perceive  that  the 
philosopher  was  a  reverent  and  earnest  Christian. 
Yet  during  his  life  ecclesiastics  charged  Newton 
with  infidelity  and  rank  atheism.  It  was  not  until 
after  his  death  that  the  storm  began  to  abate  its 
fury,  and  the  professors  of  Oxford  University 
succeeded  in  smuggling  the  theory  of  gravitation 
into  their  classrooms  under  the  cover  of  notes  in 
Aristotle's  works. 

In  like  manner  the  names  of  Galileo  and  Coper- 
nicus, of  Kepler  and  Columbus,  rise  up  in  judg- 
ment, not  against  Christianity,  but  against  its 
ignorant  and  intolerant  exponents.  Taught  in  no 
wise  by  the  errors  of  the  past,  once  more  ecclesi- 
astics are  going  forth  in  battle  array  against 
evolution,  using  texts  for  bullets,  throwing  Genesis 
at  the  scientists,  and  setting  the  flag  of  faith  in 
defence  of  the  flag  of  reason.  Confessing  that 
there  is  a  warfare  between  ignorant  scientists  and 
ignorant  ecclesiastics,  let  us  also  hasten  to  affirm 
that  there  is  no  conflict  whatever  between  science 
and  religion.  God  is  never  at  war  with  Himself. 
The  divine  voice  through  nature,  and  the  divine 
voice  through  conscience,  can  never  contradict 
each  other.  Just  as  the  flowery  bank  on  this  side 
of  a  river  is  one  with  the  bank  on  the  other  side 


Development  209 

of  the  stream,  both  having  the  same  laws  of 
gravity  and  light  and  heat,  so  science  and  religion 
are  hemispheres  making  up  one  planet,  and  are 
controlled  by  the  same  divine  laws.  It  was  of 
science  and  religion  that  Baronius  said,  "  The  one 
tells  how  the  heavens  go,  and  the  other  how  to  go 
to  heaven."  For  a  long  time  past  science  and 
religion  have  been  in  the  condition  of  two  fruitful 
trees,  through  whose  branches  has  raged  all  the 
fury  of  a  heavy  storm.  But  now  that  the  storm  is 
dying  out  of  the  air,  the  trees  are  found  to  be 
unhurt,  the  boughs  are  full  of  birds,  and  the 
branches  have  burst  into  bloom  and  fruit. 

The  storm  has  gone,  but  the  tree  abides  and 
grows.  Meanwhile  those  who  have  stood  aside 
from  the  dispute,  and  have  calmly  used  the  hy- 
pothesis of  evolution  for  testing  the  facts  of  nature 
and  life,  are  now  coming  forth  from  their  long 
retreat  with  faces  that  shine  like  men  who  have 
seen  "  the  heavenly  vision."  Nor  need  we  won- 
der that  the  surpassing  grandeur  of  the  new  con- 
ception has  exalted  reason  and  imagination,  and 
caused  scholars  to  take  off  their  shoes,  because 
every  bush  burned,  and  "  the  place  whereon  they 
walked  was  holy  ground."  All  have  come  to  feel 
the  force  of  these  memorable  words  which  close 
the  "  Origin  of  Species."  "  There  is  a  grandeur 
p 


210  Evolution  and  Christianity: 

in  this  view  of  life  with  its  several  powers  having 
been  originally  breathed  by  the  Creator  into  a  few 
forms,  or  into  one  ;  and  that  whilst  this  planet 
has  gone  cycling  on  according  to  the  fixed  law  of 
gravity,  from  so  simple  a  beginning,  endless  forms 
most  beautiful  and  most  wonderful  have  been 
born,  and  are  being  gradually  evolved."  For 
many  years  now,  in  the  laboratory  and  in  the 
library,  students  have  been  tracing  the  develop- 
ment of  the  seed  toward  the  blade  and  stalk. 
Evolution  has  enabled  the  biologist  to  search  out 
the  secrets  of  embryology.  Darwin  and  Wallace 
have  used  it  for  tracing  the  rise  of  the  animal 
body.  Romanes  has  used  it  for  explaining  the 
development  of  the  mental  faculties.  Spencer 
has  found  that  it  explains  the  rise  of  industrial 
and  social  institutions.  Bruce  and  Fairbairn  have 
found  it  explains  the  evolution  of  conscience  and 
morals.  McCosh  found  it  useful  in  interpret- 
ing the  typical  forms  of  nature.  Caird  used  it 
to  interpret  the  development  of  religion.  How 
vast  and  wide  sweeping  has  been  the  change  of 
view  can  be  understood  from  this  fact. 

Twenty  years  ago  the  leading  professor  in  a 
certain  institution  always  spoke  of  evolution  as 
the  "theory  of  devilution,"  and  now,  by  a  singular 
coincidence,  not  a  single  professor  in  that  great 


Development  211 

college  but  reverently  and  joyfully  teaches  the 
very  theory  that  once  its  founder  scored.  Already 
the  time  has  come  when  almost  everybody  ex- 
claims, "  Evolution  —  certainly  ;  why,  I  always 
believed  in  theistic  evolution." 

What  is  the  doctrine  of  evolution?  Fundamen- 
tally, it  is  the  doctrine  of  creation  by  gradualism 
rather  than  by  instantaneous  fiat.  In  general, 
there  are  three  views  of  the  origin  of  the  uni- 
verse. The  first  is  atheistic.  It  leads  God  to 
the  edge  of  the  universe,  and  quietly  bows  Him 
out  of  existence  as  unnecessary.  It  holds  that 
soil  and  heat  and  cold  alone  are  sufficient  to  ac- 
count for  harvests,  cities,  and  civilization.  Athe- 
ism calls  the  clod  the  creator  of  a  rose,  the  author 
of  an  "Iliad,"  the  father  of  a  Newton>  Reason 
explains  an  engine  by  some  Watt,  but  atheism 
explains  each  Watt  by  pointing  to  a  lump  of  mud. ' 
Atheism  is  the  apotheosis  of  blind  faith.  It  puts 
credulity  on  the  throne,  and  kicks  reason  and  cul- 
ture into  the  street.  Next  in  order  of  thought  is 
that  theory  that  explains  land  and  sea  and  sky  by 
a  sudden  inthrust  of  divine  power.  This  view 
holds  that  God  set  the  sun  in  the  centre,  balanced 
the  planets  around  about,  threw  great  belts  called 
laws  around  the  fiery  wheels,  and  in  six  successive 
days  completed  the  furnishing  of  the  world  house. 


212  Evolution  and  Christianity: 

Afterward,  the  Creator  returned  from  the  world,- 
never  to  reappear  save  at  certain  intervals,  when 
He  breaks  into  the  scene  through  special  inter- 
ruptions of  the  regular  laws. 

Over  against  this  doctrine  of  instantaneity, 
Christianity  places  the  doctrine  of  creation  by 
gradualism,  teaching  that  God  is  immanent,  is  in  all, 
through  all,  and  above  all ;  that  His  last  creative 
act  is  as  new  as  the  newly  born  babe ;  that  the 
latest  event  in  nature  is  God's  latest  thought 
toward  man  ;  that  His  love  blushes  in  each  apple 
blossom  ;  that  the  very  changes  on  the  hillsides  of 
May  form,  as  it  were,  a  continued  letter  from  God, 
freshly  written  each  morning :  that  each  new  day 
is  a  creative  day;  that  the  divine  dew  lies  as  freshly 
on  the  grass  as  when  first  the  morning  stars  sang 
together  for  joy;  that  what  God  was,  He  is;  that 
what  He  said,  He  says ;  that  what  He  did,  He 
does.  Looking  backward,  this  view  exhibits  the 
earth  as  once  in  a  condition  that  answered  to 
that  of  our  sun.  Slowly  it  cooled  ;  slowly  through 
billows  of  flame  the  granite  was  pulverized  into 
soil ;  partly  by  ice,  and  partly  by  water,  the  earth 
was  made  rich  for  the  coming  plants ;  organic  life 
at  first  being  very  simple  ;  then  the  soft  ferns 
giving  way  to  the  hardy  forests ;  by  ages  and 
long  processions  plants  rising  rank  upon  rank ; 


Development  213 

by  ages  and  long  processions  animals  rising  order 
upon  order ;  coming  at  last  to  our  father,  man  ; 
man  himself  moving  up  by  stages  toward  heights 
of  excellence,  such  as  the  imagination  of  no  Dante 
or  Milton,  though  strained  to  its  very  uttermost, 
is  able  to  conceive  what  man  shall  yet  be,  what 
faculties  shall  be  grouped  within  him,  what  heights 
of  wisdom  and  ranges  of  love  shall  be  possible 
to  him  when  God  and  Christ  and  the  resources 
of  time  shall  have  fully  wrought  their  divine 
purpose  upon  him ;  and  that  in  the  life  that 
is,  and  that  is  to  come,  God's  presence  works 
like  yeast,  and  will  ever  work ;  that  progress  is 
the  genius  of  the  universe ;  that  all  creation  is 
out  upon  an  upward  march  ;  that  daily,  God  causes 
the  dry  crust  of  the  earth  to  move  up  into  the 
herb  and  shrub;  the  shrubs  to  ascend  into  the 
life  of  the  animal ;  the  animal  to  be  lifted  up  into 
the  life  of  man  ;  man  to  be  lifted  up  into  the  mind 
and  life  of  Christ ;  that  earth  and  sun  and  all  the 
starry  hosts  are  marching  forward  to  the  sound  of 
divine  music,  and  following  after  One  who  leads 
them  toward  a  great  cosmic  goal,  when  at  length 
the  law  of  love,  which  is  the  law  of  Christ,  shall 
prevail  everywhere  —  this  is  that  seminal  theory 
of  the  universe,  called  Christian  evolution. 

Consider  how  evolution    affects    man's  idea  of 


214  Evolution  and  Christianity: 

God.  It  is  said  that  when  Jacquard  first  exhib- 
ited his  loom  to  the  wondering  spectators,  and  the 
streams  of  water,  by  means  of  the  belt  and  fly- 
wheel, started  all  the  spindles  upon  their  task  of 
embroidering  flowers  and  leaves  upon  the  silk 
texture,  the  on-lookers  were  so  entranced  with 
the  wonder  of  the  loom  as  utterly  to  forget  the 
inventor.  The  myriad  spindles  toiling  on  without 
any  help  from  without  made  Jacquard  seem  super- 
fluous. But  soon  the  mechanism  needed  repair- 
ing, and  then  the  spectators  came  to  feel  there 
was  no  greatness  in  the  loom  that  was  not  first 
in  Jacquard's  mind.  Thus  for  a  brief  period  this 
great  earthly  mechanism  with  its  evolving  pro- 
cesses seemed  to  abolish  God.  But  afterward, 
with  knowledge,  reverence  grew,  until  the  time 
has  now  come  when  biologists,  physicists,  his- 
torians, alike  confess  that  there  is  no  theory  of 
evolution  that  does  not  demand  a  God  to  make 
it  workable.  Even  Darwin  has  never  denied  the 
existence  of  a  God,  but  distinctly  assumed  the 
World  Genius  standing  back  of  His  wondrous 
earthly  mechanism. ' 

Tyndall  also  said  that  sometimes  in  melancholy 
moods  his  faith  grew  weak,  but  in  clear  and 
luminous  hours,  when  intellect  was  at  its  best, 
all  his  doubts  of  God  fled  utterly  away.  To-day 


Development  215 

scientists,  almost  without  exception,  testify  that 
evolution  has  inconceivably  exalted  the  idea  of 
God.  It  is  one  thing  for  an  inventor  to  make  a 
watch.  But  the  inventor  must  needs  stand  beside 
that  watch.  When  a  wheel  or  escapement  gives 
way  he  repairs  the  injury,  and  when  the  time- 
piece wears  out  he  makes  a  new  watch.  Now 
what  if  some  genius  could  invent  a  watch  that 
was  self-repairing ;  that  by  study  of  its  wheels 
could  correct  its  own  errors  ?  What  if  when 
worn  and  old  it  could  reproduce  itself  in  another 
watch  ?  What  if  it  could  endow  its  successor 
with  power  not  only  to  reproduce  itself,  but  to 
develop  new  improvements,  substituting  a  jewelled 
pivot  from  time  to  time  instead  of  a  pivot  of  steel, 
and  so  move  forward  in  an  ever  improving  series 
of  timepieces  ?  Would  not  the  mind  of  such  an 
inventor  as  this  be  inconceivably  superior  to  him 
who  merely  makes  a  watch  and  then  makes  another 
one  ?  Now  in  precisely  this  way  the  theory  of 
Christian  evolution  has  exalted  inconceivably  the 
idea  of  God,  who  does  not  need  to  stop  and  think 
about  the  physical  wants  of  birds  and  beasts  and 
men,  but  has  organized  His  thoughts  into  laws 
that  think  for  Him.  Thus,  slowly  as  man  grows, 
his  thoughts  of  God  grow  also.  In  an  age  of 
brute  force,  when  Hercules  was  the  ideal,  the 


216  Evolution  and  Christianity: 

Greek  saw  the  infinite  as  a  colossal  Titan.  Later 
on,  when  kings  succeeded  rude  warrior  heroes, 
the  Infinite  was  looked  upon  as  a  world  monarch. 
When  power  held  sway  over  minds  of  men,  He 
became  the  Omnipotent  One.  When  knowledge 
became  the  ideal,  He  was  a  kind  of  infinite  Agas- 
siz.  When  the  domestic  sentiments  asserted 
themselves,  He  became  goodness,  purity,  and  love. 
Each  new  virtue  in  man  proved  to  be  an  added 
window  through  which  some  new  and  glorious 
attribute  in  God  rushed  into  sight.  The  pro- 
gressive development  of  the  idea  of  God  in  the 
Scriptures  is  itself  one  of  the  most  striking 
examples  of  evolution  as  the  divine  method. 

Christian  evolution  has  also  changed  our  idea 
of  man.  Slowly  it  is  undermining  the  old  view 
of  the  fall  that  sees  each  Aristotle  as  the  ruins  of 
an  Adam,  substituting,  instead,  man  as  beginning 
in  a  low  and  savage  state,  and  under  the  provi- 
dential oversight  of  God,  slowly  moving  upward 
toward  refinement,  culture,  and  character.  Even 
the  late  president  of  Princeton  College,  Dr. 
McCosh,  has  said  that  while  neither  science  nor 
revelation  gives  a  clear  statement  as  to  how  man 
was  created,  still  it  should  be  noted  as  a  deeply 
significant  fact  that,  "as  the  human  embryo 
grows,  it  becomes  like  a  fish,  a  reptile,  a  mam- 


Development  217 

mal,  and  finally  takes  on  the  human  form.  It 
thus  passes  through  the  series  of  the  ramified 
classification  of  animals,  the  kingdom,  sub-king- 
dom, class,  family,  genus,  species."  Le  Comte, 
Cope,  and  scores  of  others  equally  prominent 
hold  that  the  human  body  brings  forward  and 
unites  in  itself  all  the  excellence  of  the  lower 
animal  creation. 

As  the  infantile  life  develops,  it  enters  into  and 
passes  through  the  likeness  of  each  lower  animal 
and,  journeying  ever  upward,  carries  with  it  the 
special  grace  and  gift  of  each  creature  that  is 
left  behind,  sometimes  a  bone  or  muscle  or  gan- 
glion, until  the  excellences  of  all  the  lower  animal 
realm  are  compacted  in  man's  little  body.  Many 
organs  useful  in  the  lower  realm  are  found  only 
in  rudimentary  form  in  man.  Drummond  says 
the  body  contains  some  seventy  vestigial  struc- 
tures like  the  vermiform  appendix.  Indeed,  the 
human  body  seems  like  an  old  curiosity  shop,  a 
museum  of  obsolete  anatomies  and  outgrown 
organs.  Take  away  the  theory  that  man  has 
risen  from  a  lower  animal  condition,  and  these 
unused  organs  have  absolutely  no  explanation. 
With  such  facts  before  us  it  is  as  foolish  to  assert 
that  man  is  not  related  to  the  animal  creation  as 
to  assert  that  the  ferns  marked  in  the  coal  strata 


218  Evolution  and  Christianity: 

and  the  fishes  found  in  the  layers  of  rock  throw 
no  light  upon  the  events  of  geology.  Strangely 
enough,  some  are  unwilling  to  believe  that  God 
created  the  body  progressively  through  animals, 
but  are  quite  willing  to  believe  that  he  created  it 
immediately  from  a  clod  in  the  Garden  of  Eden. 

But  either  origin  is  good  enough,  provided  the 
man  has  journeyed  far  enough  from  the  clod  or 
the  animal  and  gone  up  near  enough  to  the  angel. 
Some  there  are  for  whom  no  descent  seems  possi- 
ble—  they  are  already  as  low  as  any  animal. 
Others  seem  to  have  made  no  ascent  whatever, 
but  to  be  even  now  upon  the  plane  of  things  that 
creep  and  crawl.  But  let  us  leave  the  origin  of 
the  body  to  the  scientists.  By  whatever  way 
man's  body  came,  mentality  and  spirituality  have 
now  been  engrafted  thereupon.  Man  is  no  longer 
animal,  but  spiritual.  He  stands  forth  clothed 
with  faculties  divine  that  ally  him  to  God. 
Whether  man  is  descended  from  one  human  pair 
or  many  ;  whether  his  body  has  come  through  a 
direct  fiat  or  a  progressive  creation,  the  important 
fact  is  that  man  now  bears  the  image  of  God,  and 
that  all  are  brethren.  Science  has  established  a 
unity  of  men.  For  the  surgeon  and  the  dietitian 
the  physiology  or  anatomy  of  the  white  race  or 
the  black  is  the  physiology  and  anatomy  of  all 


Development  219 

races.  The  functions  of  brain  and  nerve  and 
muscle  are  the  same  in  all  peoples.  Reason  and 
memory,  the  love  of  beauty  and  of  humor,  imagi- 
nation and  conscience,  exist  in  all  tribes  alike. 
This  scientific  fact  establishes  the  doctrine  of 
human  brotherhood,  and  proclaims  the  unity  of 
the  race,  making  of  "  one  blood,"  indeed,  "  all 
who  dwell  upon  the  face  of  the  earth." 

Consider  what  light  evolution  throws  upon  the 
problem  of  sinfulness  and  the  conflict  in  the  soul. 
Primarily,  it  exhibits  man  as  a  double  creature. 
The  spirit  man  rides  upon  a  man  of  flesh,  and  is 
often  thrown  thereby,  and  trampled  under  foot. 
Because  the  physical  man  includes  all  the  instru- 
ments of  the  animal  realm,  there  are  times  when 
the  soul  seems  to  manifest  the  cunning  of  the 
fox,  the  cruelty  of  the  lion,  the  traits  of  the  wolf 
—  yea,  the  sting  of  the  serpent  itself.  But  if 
there  is  a  lower  man  having  the  appetite  and  pas- 
sion that  sustain  the  body,  there  is  also  a  higher 
spiritual  man  with  reason,  affection,  and  moral 
sentiments.  And  the  union  of  the  two  means 
strife  and  conflict.  It  is  the  doing  by  the  physi- 
cal man  what  the  spiritual  man  would  not  do  that 
leads  the  soul  to  cry  out,  "  Oh,  wretched  man  that 
I  am !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this 
death?" 


220  Evolution  and  Christianity  : 

Thus  sin  ceases  to  be  philosophy  and  creed, 
and  becomes  a  concrete  personal  fact.  Sin  is  the 
struggle  for  supremacy  between  the  animal  forces 
and  the  higher  spiritual  powers.  Just  as  there  is 
a  line  between  the  tropics  where  the  two  zones 
meet  and  breed  cyclones,  so  there  is  a  middle  line  in 
man  where  the  spiritual  meets  the  animal  man,  and 
there  perpetual  storm  doth  reign  ;  there  it  has  been 
said  clouds  never  pass  away  and  the  thunder  never 
dies  out  of  the  soul's  horizon.  Now  this  scientific 
view  of  sin  is  slowly  but  surely  destroying  the 
mediaeval  conception.  The  scholastics  long  have 
represented  God  as  creating  inexperience  and 
innocence,  then  permitting  it  to  be  debauched, 
and  afterward  transmitting  the  awful  results  to 
the  entire  human  race,  dooming  the  vast  majority 
to  endless  torment.  Many,  for  want  of  any  other 
view,  have  accepted  what  they  have  been  taught, 
not  realizing  the  real  content  of  the  teaching.  If 
a  physician  should  place  his  child  in  a  plague  hos- 
pital, and  expose  him  to  contagion,  knowing  that 
he  would  transmit  the  awful  disease  to  innumerable 
generations,  an  after  decision  to  introduce  reme- 
dial proceedings  for  a  very  few  of  the  plague- 
stricken  ones  would  in  no  wise  clear  the  father's 
garments  of  responsibility.  Multitudes  have  wel- 
comed the  new  statement  of  the  doctrine  of  sin  — 


Development  221 

not  simply  because  it  sweeps  away  the  dreadful 
nightmare  of  scholastic  teachings,  and  rids  the 
mind  of  a  horror  of  thick  darkness,  but  also 
because  this  view  lends  itself  readily,  first  to  the 
facts  of  experience  and  the  facts  of  heredity,  and 
chiefly  because  it  interprets  that  conception  of 
human  sinfulness  as  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 
And  this  evolutionary  view,  appealing  to  uni- 
versal reason,  appeals  also  to  divine  help. 
Morning  and  noon  and  night  it  encourages  in 
men  the  hope  of  a  divine  deliverer.  To  men 
struggling  to  conquer  the  body  and  to  rise 
above  the  dominion  of  sin  these  words  of  Christ, 
"  Ye  may,  ye  must  be  born  again,"  are  sweet  as 
angels'  songs  falling  o'er  the  battlements  of  Para- 
dise. For  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  is  by  pre- 
eminence the  doctrine  of  salvation. 

This  seminal  theory  also  throws  great  light  upon 
the  conversion  of  the  law  of  strength  and  force 
into  the  law  of  love  and  vicarious  service.  In  the 
inorganic  world  strength  survives,  weakness  goes 
to  the  wall.  Returning  to  the  plant  realm,  the 
sturdy  shrub  weeds  out  the  weaker  growths.  But 
with  parenthood  a  new  principle  appears.  Weak- 
ness ceases  to  go  down  before  strength.  The 
parent  uses  his  wisdom  and  power  as  a  shield  for 
protecting  infancy.  The  law  of  the  survival  of 


222  Evolution  and  Christianity  : 

the  fittest  is  succeeded  by  the  law  of  service.  And 
when  the  parental  instinct  has  fully  interrupted 
the  law  of  strength,  then  rude  men  in  their  wild 
life  begin  to  protect  weakness  in  others.  At  a 
very  early  era  Moses  enacted  laws  giving  the 
orphan  the  right  to  glean  in  the  fields,  giving  the 
pilgrim  overcome  with  hunger  the  right  to  enter 
the  vineyards  for  satisfying  his  pressing  hunger 
with  food  and  grain,  forbidding  the  creditor  to 
take  away  the  debtor's  spade,  plough,  or  imple- 
ment of  labor,  freeing  the  slave  at  stated  intervals. 
Finally,  when  the  fulness  of  time  had  come,  the 
interruption  of  the  law  of  strength  had  a  new 
exhibition  in  the  life  and  death  of  Christ,  in  whom 
the  twilight  passed  into  sunrise,  and  who  con- 
verted the  cosmic  law  of  the  survival  of  strength 
into  the  law  of  sympathy,  vicarious  service,  and 
suffering.  And  slowly  his  influence  is  leavening 
all  society  ;  imitating  him,  the  children  of  genius 
like  Stowe  use  their  genius  to  plead  for  the  slave ; 
each  Dickens  consecrates  his  pen  to  ameliorating 
the  condition  of  orphaned  Oliver  Twist  and  David 
Copperfield  ;  each  John  Brown,  Lloyd  Garrison, 
and  Wendell  Phillips  gives  his  power  to  the  slaves 
in  the  Southern  cotton  fields ;  such  reformers 
and  heroes  as  Howard  and  Livingstone  give  life 
itself  to  the  conquest  of  savagery  and  the  en- 


Development  223 

thronement  of  civilization  in  some  dark  continent. 
For  this  progressive  interruption  of  the  law  of  the 
survival  of  the  fittest  has  its  sublimest  manifesta- 
tion in  the  life,  teachings,  and  death  of  Jesus 
Christ,  whose  example  is  exalting  all  civilization 
and  making  the  world  ready  for  the  day  when  the 
universe  itself  shall  give  praise  unto  Him,  "  who, 
being  rich,  for  our  sakes  made  Himself  poor,"  and 
therefore  has  received  "a  name  that  is  above  every 
name." 

Postponing  for  the  present  all  discussion  of  the 
bearing  of  Christian  evolution  upon  the  institution 
of  the  church,  the  conception  of  the  Bible  with 
the  ideas  of  prayer  and  providence,  and  the  hope 
of  social  progress,  it  remains  for  us  to  note  its 
bearing  upon  immortality.  Of  old  Socrates  and 
Cicero  found  in  nature  intimations  of  a  future 
life.  But  so  faint  were  the  glimmerings  that  men 
never  knew  the  joy  of  death  or  the  happiness  of 
dying.  For  the  multitude  the  grave  dripped  with 
horrors.  Death's  cold  chilled  men  to  the  marrow. 
The  skull  and  crossbones  alone  were  fitting  sym- 
bols of  the  future.  It  was  Christ  who  brought 
life  and  immortality  to  light.  But  at  length  has 
dawned  a  day  when  science  is  beginning  to  ver- 
ify and  interpret  Christ's  vision  of  immortality. 
Everywhere  nature  exhibits  the  lower  working 


224  Evolution  and  Christianity: 

toward  the  higher.  Science  finds  that  the  seed's 
husk  first  dies  that  the  inner  plant  may  live  ;  the 
bud  falls  that  the  fruit  may  swell ;  the  vine  gives 
its  sap  that  the  clusters  may  grow  ripe ;  the  heart 
gives  its  blood  that  the  brain  may  think  and  grow 
wise  ;  while  in  every  realm  of  life  the  lower  must 
needs  die,  that  the  higher  may  live  again.  And 
having  seen  how  plants  rise  rank  upon  rank  ;  hav- 
ing seen  biennials  journey  toward  the  winter  of 
death,  only  to  receive  a  second  summer  for  the 
bloom  and  blossom  that  the  first  summer  denied  ; 
having  seen  that  not  one  order  of  created  life  but 
has  persisted  until  its  every  force  was  unfolded 
and  developed,  science  has  gone  on  to  observe 
that  man  alone  is  germinal  at  death.  The  summer 
is  too  short  and  cold  for  his  mental  fruitage. 
Even  the  ripest  sage  and  seer  is  only  in  the  bud 
and  blossom  of  his  growth.  Three  score  years 
and  ten  avail  but  for  an  alphabetic  development 
of  reason  and  memory  and  affection.  The  rest  of 
man's  two  score  faculties  must  wait  for  a  second 
summer.  Grave-planted,  the  quiescent  germinal 
faculties  wait  for  a  more  genial  clime.  Indeed,  the 
multitudes  in  China  and  Africa,  and  the  myriads  in 
the  isles  of  the  sea,  go  forward  unto  death,  each  like 
a  casket  of  seeds  that  has  never  yet  been  planted. 
Why  the  God  of  silence  and  mystery  permitted 


Development  225 

the  populations  for  thousands  of  generations  to 
sweep  on  in  number  like  unto  the  leaves  of  the 
forest,  and  like  the  leaves  rising  only  to  fall  again  ; 
why  through  untold  ages  He  left  them  without 
church,  or  Bible,  or  altar,  or  religious  teacher,  we 
do  not  know.  Reason  may  record  its  surprise 
that  men  were  left  in  ignorance  of  roots  lying 
under  foot  that  would  have  cured  the  raging  pes- 
tilence ;  why  the  Heavens  breathed  forth  no  word 
of  instruction  as  to  body  and  brain,  as  to  reason 
and  memory,  as  to  the  problems  of  health  and 
happiness.  But  reason  fails  to  pierce  the  veil.  It 
is  enough  that  God  has  time,  and  to  spare  ;  that 
growth  is  His  upon  both  sides  of  the  grave,  that 
all  instruments  of  power  and  agents  of  happiness 
and  character  are  God's  and  therefore  His  chil- 
dren's. So  that  beyond  death  He  may  accomplish 
for  the  children  of  ignorance  and  superstition  the 
happiness  and  culture  denied  them  here.  Surely 
He  who  has  skill  to  cause  the  very  gravestones  to 
go  toward  mossy  life  and  beauty  ;  out  of  decaying 
logs  can  snowdrops  bring  ;  leads  the  lily's  white- 
ness forth  from  the  black  slough  and  bog ;  can 
make  the  roses  on  the  battle-fields  the  redder  for 
the  ruin  that  has  been  wrought ;  hath  also  skill  to 
lead  the  darkened  mind  toward  light ;  to  turn  vice 
into  virtue,  and  bring  judgment  to  victory. 
Q 


226  Evolution  and  Christianity 

Therefore,  we  should  expel  from  the  mind  un- 
generous thoughts  about  God.  If  God  is  generous 
toward  man  the  prodigal  and  sinner,  why  should  man 
be  ungenerous  toward  God,  and  think  Him  without 
resource  for  the  darkened  generations  ?  Justice  and 
love  are  on  the  world's  throne.  Therefore  all  is 
well.  In  Paris  after  the  horrors  of  the  Revolution 
had  passed,  the  traveller  lying  awake  at  midnight 
in  his  hotel  might  hear  the  watchman  crying, 
"  Midnight,  and  all  is  well !  "  But  the  prophet  who 
watches  under  the  stars  for  the  morning  of  God's 
coming,  need  not  say,  "  Midnight,  and  all  is 
well !  "  but  rather,  "  The  day  dawns,  and  all  is 

well !  "     Even  now  the  King  of  time  draws  near. 
/*••» 
He  is  causing   Christianity,   no  longer   disfigured 

and  mourning,  to  go  forth  in  all  the  beauty 
of  divine  and  all-conquering  love.  Soon  there 
shall  fall  o'er  the  heavenly  battlements  the 
shout  of  victory,  from  the  lips  of  the  heavenly 
host,  again  drawing  near  our  earth ;  soon  shall  rise 
from  the  redeemed  human  family  the  notes  of 
exulting  praise  and  gladness  ;  soon  earth's  song 
and  heaven's  symphony,  meeting,  shall  unite  in 
one  triumphant  hymn  of  praise,  that  shall  sound 
on  and  sound  forever,  in  honor  of  "  Him  who  is 
before  all  things  and  in  whom  all  things  consist." 


X 

Evolution  ant  tfje  Nefo  Ftefo  of  tfje 


"  It  is  true  that  the  Bible  is  an  inspired  book  .  .  .  but  in  a 
much  higher  sense  than  that  which  is  claimed  for  it,  and  which 
is  pragmatical,  pharisaic,  and  minifying.  I  have  already  dealt 
with  this,  but  for  the  young  there  may  be  a  further  condensa- 
tion of  some  points.  The  grander  and  truer  theory  of  inspira- 
tion is  that  under  God's  providence  all  the  moral  sentiments 
and  noble  tendencies  of  mankind  have  been  growing  in  the 
direction  of  divine  truth ;  that  there  has  been  a  guidance,  a 
general  enlightenment,  of  the  human  race,  in  every  age,  espe- 
cially among  certain  peoples  ;  that  men  have  developed  great 
moral  principles,  and  some  to  a  large  degree  have  grown  into 
heavenly  knowledge ;  that  the  counsel  and  secret  thoughts  of 
God  were  thus  indicated  by  human  growth  in  grace ;  that 
exceptional  persons  were  raised  up  in  every  period  who  could 
see  what  was  thus  made  known,  and  who  made  a  faithful 
record  of  what  had  transpired  under  this  inspiration  of  God ; 
and  that  statements  were  made  by  them  of  the  experiences  of 
the  inspired  race,  so  far  as  they  were  unfolding  out  of  nothing 
into  something,  from  lower  to  higher  forms  of  knowledge. 
This  theory  of  the  inspiration  of  Scripture  is  quite  reconcil- 
able with  the  fact  that  there  are  mistakes  of  letters  and  words 
and  even  of  historic  statements  in  it  here  and  there,  without 
lessening  its  spiritual  value." 

—  BEECHER'S  "Bible  Studies,"  p.  35. 


228 


X 

EVOLUTION  AND  THE  NEW  VIEW  OF  THE  BIBLE 

The  Bible  and  the  rise  of  the  common  people.  This  book 
a  spring  of  liberty.  The  very  heart  of  law  and  literature. 
No  other  book  so  popular  with  orators  and  poets.  Holds 
the  love  of  the  common  people.  Of  late  a  storm  centre. 
Every  treasure  house,  stored  with  wealth,  invites  attack. 
Unfortunately  the  discussion  has  destroyed  the  confidence 
of  multitudes.  The  book  has  been  be-trashed  and  be- 
rubbished.  The  story  of  the  Bible.  A  library  of  a  single 
volume.  The  Bible  portrays  the  rise  and  growth  of  right  and 
wrong.  Exhibits  the  evolution  of  moral  ideas.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  Ten  Commandments.  The  development  of  the 
Mosaic  symbolism  as  a  revelation  of  God.  The  Bible  ex- 
hibits the  gradual  development  of  the  theistic  idea.  Not  a 
book  of  chemistry  or  astronomy.  Not  a  book  of  history. 
A  book  of  morals.  The  story  of  the  higher  moods  of  the 
noblest  men  of  the  best  nation  of  the  old  times,  preserved 
for  the  guidance  of  the  multitudes.  The  Bible  the  book  of 
refinement  and  culture.  No  other  book  stands  in  such  vital 
relations  to  the  human  heart.  The  one  universal  book.  Its 
truths  eternal. 

A  LTHOUGH  all  nations  and  ages  have  had 
r**  their  religious  books,  no  other  volume  has 
stood  in  such  vital  relations  to  the  mind  and  heart 
as  the  Bible.  Since  Luther's  day,  this  book  has 

229 


230  Evolution 

been  literature  as  well  as  religion,  for  all  Europe. 
The  Saxon  race  may  literally  be  said  to  have  de- 
rived its  civilization  from  this  single  volume.  So 
deeply  has  this  book  implanted  itself  upon  the 
household  life,  and  so  powerfully  has  it  wrought 
upon  all  poets  and  singers,  that  scholars  and  peo- 
ple alike  find  it  well-nigh  impossible  to  think  apart 
from  its  moral  levels.  Analyzing  the  traits  of  the 
English  race,  Emerson  remarked  that  the  ruling 
classes  have  their  strength  and  culture  through 
having  been  nourished  daily  upon  a  chapter  in  the 
Bible  and  a  leader  in  the  London  Times.  The 
immortal  principles  of  the  Bible  have  befen  the 
bread  of  life  to  the  millions  of  the  republic  also. 
Ours  is  an  era  when  the  divine  beauty  that  rav- 
ished Milton  and  Dante  is  convincing  the  west- 
ern peoples  also  that  duty  is  one  with  joy  and 
beauty.  In  all  ages  great  men  have  gone  to  the 
Bible  as  to  the  very  spring  of  thought  and  inspi- 
ration. This  book  lent  Milton  his  Paradise ;  lent 
Handel  his  Messiah  ;  lent  Titian  his  Transfigura- 
tion ;  lent  Christopher  Wren  the  plan  of  his 
cathedral ;  lent  liberty  to  Cromwell ;  lent  Lincoln 
a  rule,  "  golden  "  for  white  and  black  alike. 

Take  the  Bible  out  of  the  galleries  and  cathe- 
drals of  Europe ;  take  it  out  of  the  world's  songs 
and  sympathies,  its  laws  and  literatures,  and  only 


And  tine  New  View  of  the  Bible  231 

an  outer  shell  of  civilization  would  be  left — just 
as  taking  a  sweet  babe  out  of  the  cradle  would 
leave  only  a  few  pieces  of  lumber.  Nor  has  any 
other  book  stood  in  universal  relations  to  all  ages 
and  classes.  The  Bible  has  made  an  ineffaceable 
impression  upon  child  life.  Upon  it  poets  have 
fed  their  genius.  Its  thoughts  lie  like  threads  of 
gold  upon  the  rich  pages  of  each  Macaulay  or 
Burke.  Orators  have  quoted  from  it  so  largely 
that  we  may  say  that,  in  proportion  as  men 
are  cultured,  have  they  been  students  of  the 
Bible.  To-day  its  moral  principles  form  the  very 
substance  and  body  of  modern  law  and  juris- 
prudence. For  centuries  it  has  been  the  book 
for  patriots  and  reformers  ;  it  has  been  the  slave's 
book ;  it  has  been  the  book  for  the  common  peo- 
ple struggling  upward  :  it  has  been  the  book  of 
hope  for  all  prodigals ;  it  has  been  a  medicine 
book  for  the  heart-broken,  while  its  ideas  furnish 
goals  for  society's  future  progress.  For  the  indi- 
vidual it  teaches  the  art  of  individual  worth,  and 
is  a  guide  to  conduct  and  character.  For  the 
state  it  is  a  handbook  of-i\miversal  civilization. 
Strangely  enough,  of  late  years  the  Bible  has 
become  the  centre  of  storm  and  attack.  The  time 
was  when  men  read  and  reverenced  it,  as  though 
it  were  a  book  fallen  down  from  God.  If  all  its 


232  Evolution 

pages  had  been  printed  by  angel  hands ;  if  all  had 
borne  God's  signet  and  seal ;  if  by  a  silver  cord  it 
had  been  let  down  over  the  heavenly  battlements, 
men  could  scarcely  have  treated  it  with  more  pro- 
found reverence.  Indeed,  in  certain  quarters  this 
reverence  has  amounted  almost  to  idolatry.  A 
Scotch  writer  of  the  last  century  tells  us  his  fa- 
ther, after  evening  prayer,  used  to  put  the  Bible 
upon  the  doorsteps  to  keep  the  spooks  away.  For- 
tunately, the  tendency  to  treat  the  Bible  as  an 
idolater  his  fetich  has  now  given  place  to  a  rever- 
ent faith  and  study. 

But,  singularly  enough,  to  the  Bible  there  now 
has  come  a  transition  period  and  a  critical  hour. 
Other  centuries  have  witnessed  attacks  upon  the 
Scriptures,  but  never  has  the  book  known  an 
ordeal  like  unto  the  one  through  which  it  is  now 
passing.  Never  before  have  wit  and  scholarship 
been  used  against  it  with  such  skill  and  force. 
Never  before  has  assault  been  made  from  so 
many  sides,  or  been  so  bitter.  Strange  as  it  may 
seem,  this  hospital  book,  this  magazine  of  mer- 
cies, has  been  turnefi  into  a  scene  of  war  and 
strife.  One  party  has  taken  its  stand  upon  one 
part  of  the  Bible,  and  another  party  upon  another 
part  of  the  Bible,  and  texts  have  been  turned  into 
bullets,  and  the  most  precious  truths  have  been 


And  the  New  View  of  the  Bible          233 

formed  into  weapons  of  offence  and  defence.  If 
men  should  go  into  a  garden — not  for  shade  and 
shelter,  not  to  pluck  the  clusters  for  food  or  the 
blossoms  for  fragrance,  but  to  split  the  apple 
trees  into  shafts  for  spears,  to  feed  the  blossoms 
to  war-horses,  to  use  seeds  for  shots,  to  trample 
all  the  sweet  buds  into  the  mire,  we  should  have 
that  which  would  answer  precisely  to  what  has 
happened  to  this  book  of  peace  and  kindness. 

Always  has  it  been  the  fortune  of  any  instru- 
ment that  makes  for  influence,  wealth,  or  wisdom, 
to  invite  war  and  engender  strife.  In  every 
age  the  palace  stored  with  wealth  and  the  treas- 
ure-house filled  with  jewels  have  encouraged 
attack.  In  the  time  of  Pericles,  Phidias  and  his 
school  of  artists  toiled  long  to  fill  the  Parthenon 
with  the  most  precious  marbles  our  earth  has 
ever  seen.  But  the  very  value  of  these  art  treas- 
ures engendered  covetousness.  In  the  fierce  strife 
to  possess  these  marbles,  the  Parthenon  became 
an  arsenal.  Inside  the  Athenians  piled  the  mar- 
bles up  as  barricades,  behind  which  lay  soldiers 
with  swords  and  rifles.  Without,  stood  the  Turks 
hurling  cannon-balls  through  the  walls  and  roof. 
Soon  the  Parthenon  became  a  heap  and  the  gal- 
lery a  mass  of  blackened  fragments.  And,  by 
reason  of  its  very  value  and  influence,  the  Bible 


234  Evolution 

also  has  become  a  centre  of  criticism  and  discus- 
sion. Every  possible  sect  and  party  have  gone 
to  it  for  texts  with  which  to  buttress  their  posi- 
tion. Errors  in  geology  and  astronomy  have 
been  charged  upon  the  book ;  as  have  been  mis- 
takes in  history  and  science,  and  errors  in  morals. 
Unfortunately,  the  discussion  has  destroyed  the 
confidence  of  multitudes.  Many  have  become 
utterly  indifferent  to  the  book.  For  them  the 
Bible  is  as  though  it  were  not.  For  of  what 
value  is  a  chart  for  passengers,  if  the  captain 
does  not  understand  it  ?  Of  what  use  is  a  guide 
book,  if  even  its  interpreters  cannot  explain  it  ? 
In  some  its  reading  still  stirs  sweet  memories, 
although  it  has  ceased  to  have  any  binding  au- 
thority. Of  late,  there  has  been  less  heat  in  the 
conflict  respecting  the  nature  and  authority  of 
the  Scriptures.  The  smoke  is  clearing  away, 
and  the  attempt  to  overthrow  the  Bible  has  met 
its  Waterloo.  If,  on  the  one  hand,  the  old  view 
of  verbal  inspiration,  that  looked  upon  each 
chapter  and  sentence,  each  word  and  comma,  as 
inspired  of  God,  has  been  rendered  utterly  un- 
tenable ;  on  the  other  hand,  reverent  scholar- 
ship meeting  the  critical  assault  on  its  own 
grounds  has  established  the  authority  of  the 
Bible  as  a  book  of  conduct  and  character  and  a 
book  of  God. 


And  the  New  View  of  the  Bible          235 

Never  was  there  a  book  so  be-trashed  and  be- 
rubbished.  Coming  to  it  through  commentators 
has  been  like  looking  out  upon  the  sun  through 
a  window  over  which  spiders  have  spun  webs, 
festooned  with  thick  dust.  What  men  have 
called  attacks  upon  the  Bible  have  been  only 
attempts  of  scholars  to  clear  away  false  concep- 
tions, that  the  book  may  speak  for  itself.  With 
the  new  views  has  come  the  conviction  that  the 
Bible  has  just  begun  its  mission  as  an  instru- 
ment for  regenerating  human  life.  So  far  from 
its  oil  being  burned  out,  attacks  have  served 
only  to  trim  the  wick.  Never  before  did  it  seem 
so  likely  to  go  down  into  the  future  as  a  light 
shining  in  a  dark  place.  The  grass  withereth,  the 
flower  fadeth,  the  hills  perish  in  their  places ;  yea, 
"  the  mountain  stream  wearies  the  mountain  heart 
as  the  crimson  pulse  does  ours ;  and  the  natural 
force  of  the  iron  crag  is  abated  in  its  appointed 
time,  like  the  strength  of  the  sinews  in  a  human 
old  age " ;  the  grass  withereth,  the  hills  perish, 
the  mountains  fall,  but  "the  word  of  our  God 
standeth  forever." 

In  a  previous  study  we  have  seen  that  evolu- 
tion has  done  for  time  what  Newton's  "  Prin- 
cipia"  did  for  space.  It  has  shown  the  geologist 
how  a  ball  of  fire  became  a  home  for  man.  It 


236  Evolution 

has  shown  the  astronomer  how  to  explain  the 
changes  through  which  planets,  stars,  and  suns 
are  now  passing.  It  exhibits  to  scientists  how 
the  flower,  fruit,  and  forests,  how  all  things  that 
creep,  or  walk,  or  fly,  have  come  to  their  present 
position  through  ages  of  change  and  gradual  un- 
folding. It  portrays  man's  rise  and  progress  as 
he  leaves  behind  his  cave  and  blanket,  and  goes 
forward  to  the  time  when  he  exchanges  his  forked 
stick  for  the  steam  plough,  his  language  of  signs 
for  the  language  of  Socrates  and  Shakespeare ; 
until  at  last  his  hut  has  become  a  home,  his  clus- 
ter of  tepees  has  been  turned  into  a  city,  and 
ignorance  and  vice  have  given  place  to  marriage 
and  commerce,  to  the  college  and  library,  to  the 
knowledge  and  worship  of  God.  So  great  have 
been  the  changes  this  theory  has  wrought  in  the 
college  and  church  that  nine  out  of  ten  teachers 
and  preachers  of  America  and  England  are  using 
this  theory  as  the  basis  of  all  their  instruction  in 
the  church  and  forum. 

The  professors  in  our  colleges  and  universities 
have  given  bold  and  frank  allegiance  to  this  help- 
ful principle.  And  now  has  come  an  era  when 
even  the  theological  seminaries  are  beginning  to 
find  it  a  lamp  of  guidance.  The  professor  of 
theology  in  Yale  University  has  for  many  years 


And  the  New  View  of  the  Bible          237 

used  evolution  for  explaining  the  great  facts  of 
man's  mental  and  spiritual  life,  and  the  pro- 
fessor of  theology  in  another  seminary  has 
published  a  treatise  upon  the  evolution  of  con- 
science and  in  morals.  Indeed,  that  method  of 
study  known  as  the  higher  criticism,  that  has 
during  the  past  five  years  turned  the  churches 
into  storm  centres,  is  really  the  method  of  evo- 
lution applied  to  the  study  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  Having  given  society  the  new 
astronomy,  the  new  psychology,  the  new  soci- 
ology, evolution  is  now  giving  us  a  new  con- 
ception of  the  Bible,  and  is  making  it  a  clear, 
shining  light,  instead  of  an  orb  obscured  by 
false  claims  and  worn-out  philosophies.  And 
so  far  from  having  weakened  faith  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, as  many  confidently  predicted,  it  has 
strengthened  it.  Unlike  the  former  indiffer- 
ence and  neglect,  under  the  new  method  the 
classrooms  of  professors  in  our  colleges  are  once 
more  crowded  with  those  who  are  studying  the 
Old  Testament  with  keenest  delight.  Again 
this  divine  book  is  becoming  a  book  of  fascina- 
tion, a  book  of  guidance,  and  the  book  of  God. 
Now,  our  intellectual  tread  will  be  the  firmer 
if  we  clear  away  certain  misconceptions  about 
the  Bible.  Many  suppose  it  to  be  one  book, 


238  Evolution 

like  the  "Principia,"  like  the  constitution  of  the 
state,  like  a  book  of  law  and  government.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  not  so  much  a  single  book  as 
a  library,  in  which  the  religious  views  and  expe- 
riences of  many  peoples  are  brought  together  and 
bound  into  one  volume  for  purposes  of  conven- 
ience. The  Bible  is  made  up  of  some  fifty  and 
more  pamphlets.  It  was  written  by  more  than 
thirty  different  men,  who  lived  hundreds  of  years 
apart,  who  wrote  in  three  different  languages,  were 
influenced  by  different  customs  and  different  insti- 
tutions, and  lived  for  the  most  part  in  ignorance 
the  one  of  what  another  had  written.  There 
is,  indeed,  a  moral  unity  that  runs  through  all 
these  writings,  but  the  physical  unity  is  purely 
of  the  printer  —  even  though  it  be  providential. 
Perhaps  men  will  never  realize  how  truly  it  is 
a  book  of  God  until  all  these  pamphlets  are  sep- 
arated and  each  of  the  fifty  writings  is  made  to 
have  its  own  title-page.  Between  the  writings 
of  the  first  book  of  Moses  and  the  last  book  of 
John,  empires  rose  and  fell,  institutions  waxed 
and  waned  into  nothingness,  but  through  all 
these  centuries  and  among  all  these  peoples  con- 
science as  the  vice-regent  of  God  did  ever  rebuke 
sin  and  praise  integrity.  The  sage  and  the  seer, 
the  herdsman  and  the  husbandman,  the  merchant 


And  the  New  View  of  the  Bible  239 

and  tanner,  the  poet  and  prince  —  all  alike  bear 
common  witness  to  the  foolishness  of  sin  and 
the  wisdom  of  right  living.  It  is  essentially, 
therefore,  a  history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of 
ideas  right  and  wrong,  as  they  began  in  Abra- 
ham and  developed  into  their  full  fruition  in  the 
life  of  Jesus  Christ. 

For  wise  men  the  Bible  is  a  record  of  what 
God  has  done,  rather  than  what  God  has  said. 
It  is  not  a  book  of  geology  nor  a  book  of  astron- 
omy nor  a  book  of  chemistry.  He  who  wants 
the  truth  regarding  any  of  the  sciences  must 
turn  to  the  treatises  thereupon.  But  the  Bible 
is  a  book  of  morals  and  a  book  of  mercy.  And 
this  moral  element  unites  these  fifty  and  more 
pamphlets  into  one  book  called  the  book  of  God 
—  just  as  the  sentiment  of  the  beautiful  has 
united  in  Westminster  Abbey  the  foundations 
and  walls,  the  towers  and  chapels,  representing 
many  different  centuries  and  strangely  divergent 
kinds  of  architecture,  but  all  through  the  science 
of  beauty  made  one  structure,  answering  to  all 
the  purposes  of  a  noble  and  impressive  cathe- 
dral. The  unity  of  the  Bible  is  not  the  unity 
of  a  single  song,  but  the  unity  of  an  oratorio  or 
a  symphony. 

Consider  first   of  all   how   the    Bible   portrays 


240  Evolution 

the  genesis  and  growth  of  ideas  right  and  wrong. 
Primarily  it  exhibits  man  as  beginning  in  a  state 
of  animalism.  Then  it  pictures  him  as  moving 
forward  a  recognition  of  what  makes  for  iniquity 
and  what  for  integrity.  By  slow  and  involved 
processes  it  describes  even  the  best  men  of  the 
early  ages  as  committing  crimes  which  men 
would  now  call  unutterably  wicked.  So  low  was 
the  morality  of  men  like  Jacob  and  Solomon 
that  had  they  lived  to-day  they  doubtless  would 
have  gone  to  state  prison.  Jacob  was  cunning 
and  cruel  and  selfish,  and  yet  the  moral  standard 
in  his  biographer  was  such  that  the  patriarch 
escaped  without  condemnation.  Very  interest- 
ing is  the  growth  of  moral  ideas.  At  an 
early  period  men  perceived  that  stealing  discour- 
aged thrift  and  toil.  Homer's  ideal  was  Ulysses 
with  his  cunning,  and  deceit  also  entered  into 
the  Spartan  hero.  But  men  soon  discerned  that 
theft  was  favorable  to  idleness  rather  than  in- 
dustry. On«  man  refused  the  plough  or  sickle, 
for  in  one  hour  of  theft  by  night  he  could  attain 
unto  all  the  fruits  of  his  neighbor's  labor.  Soon 
theft  was  seen  to  be  an  axe  laid  at  the  root  of 
the  vineyard  and  orchard.  In  the  interest,  there- 
fore, of  commerce  men  came  together  and  made 
laws  prohibiting  theft,  —  a  law  which  Moses  after- 


And  the  New  Yiew  of  tbe  Bible  241 

ward  formally  registered  in  a  code.  Very  simi- 
lar was  the  evolution  of  the  principle  of  truth. 
Man  found  that  falsehood  impaired  commerce, 
while  truth  alone  made  exchanges  possible. 
Each  patriarch  found  it  was  important  to  have 
herdsmen  whom  he  could  believe.  If  the  shep- 
herd said  he  had  five  hundred  sheep  upon  one 
side  of  the  Jordan  and  a  thousand  upon  the 
other,  and  the  sheik  answered,  "  May  be,  and 
may  be  not,"  and  started  out  to  investigate,  he 
would  soon  have  nothing  to  do  but  follow  up 
his  employees.  Lying  was  seen  to  be  very  expen- 
sive for  store  and  shop  and  street,  and  commerce 
was  found  to  rest  entirely  upon  the  principle  that 
man's  word  and  bond  could  be  relied  upon. 

Individually,  also,  the  liar  found  that  he  could 
not  remember  to  whom  he  had  made  this  false 
statement  and  to  whom  that  one.  After  a  time 
the  weakness  of  memory  became  a  fresh  argument 
toward  truth. 

Slowly  the  sentiment  against  falsehood  waxed 
strong,  until  in  our  day  men  perceive  that  lying  is 
inexpedient  as  well  as  wicked  —  that  is,  inexpedi- 
ent everywhere,  except  in  making  returns  to  the 
assessor,  and  on  nearing  the  custom-house  when 
coming  from  abroad,  and  when  accepting  creeds 
with  certain  mental  reservations  and  interpreta- 


242  Evolution 

tions.  In  these  three  realms  untruth  is  still  held 
to  be  lawful.  And  as  by  slow  processes  there  has 
been  an  evolution  of  the  sentiment  of  truth,  so 
have  all  the  moral  ideas  been  slowly  developed 
and  registered  at  last  into  codes.  But  the  stand- 
ard rose  slowly.  The  distance  traversed  by  so- 
ciety between  the  age  of  Jacob  and  the  time  of 
John  is  equalled  only  by  the  vast  distance  the 
earth  has  to  travel  between  the  period  of  January 
and  June.  Very  slowly  does  winter  with  its 
storms  go  forward  unto  April  with  its  faint  fore- 
shadowings  of  the  summer's  beauty ;  very  slowly 
does  April  give  place  to  August,  when  all  nature 
is  aglow.  Thus  the  night  of  moral  darkness  gave 
place  slowly  unto  the  dawn  which,  in  Jesus  Christ, 
broke  into  the  perfect  day  of  truth  and  goodness, 
of  hope  and  love. 

The  Bible  exhibits  a  similar  evolution  in  the  use 
of  the  symbols  and  the  pictorial  emblems  fitted  for 
interpreting  the  ideas  of  right  and  duty  and  God. 
Society  will  make  a  large  use  of  emblems.  With 
solemn  pageantry  kings  and  emperors  are  crowned. 
Rich  and  impressive  ceremonies  are  made  to  lend 
majesty  to  the  new  Czar's  position.  In  the  repub- 
lic a  more  modest  but  less  impressive  ceremony 
is  used  when  the  President  kisses  the  Bible  and 
takes  the  oath  of  office.  Looking  toward  the 


And  the  New  View  of  the  Bible  243 

home,  society  sees  the  gold  ring,  classic  ceremony, 
music,  and  all  rich  appointments  for  interpreting 
the  beauty  of  marriage  and  the  sanctity  of  the 
home.  But  such  dignity,  simplicity,  and  beauty 
attaches  to  the  ceremonial  machinery  of  the  Bible 
as  that  all  other  symbols  whatsoever  seem  by  con- 
trast bare  and  tame.  Remember  that  society  in 
Moses'  day  was  animal  and  ignorant ;  that  men 
were  serfs,  slaves,  and  criminals.  There  was  not 
even  a  word  for  sin,  nor  a  word  for  righteousness, 
nor  a  correct  idea  of  God.  The  problem  was,  how 
to  produce  in  the  minds  of  savages  these  ideas 
of  right  and  wrong,  of  justice  and  truth.  The 
method  that  was  selected  was  a  method  of  em- 
blems and  symbols.  In  the  interests  of  these 
savage  men,  who  thought  nothing  of  killing  an 
enemy  or  of  enslaving  captives,  Moses  established 
a  ceremonial  kindergarten  for  the  development  of 
the  ideas  of  good  and  evil. 

First  of  all  he  built  a  temple,  with  court  open- 
ing into  court.  Assembling  all  the  people  upon 
the  outside,  he  closed  the  temple  door  against 
them  and  so  interpreted  to  the  multitude  the 
idea  that  iniquity  separated  and  shut  men  away 
from  God.  Then  for  those  who  manifested  deep 
repentance  for  sin,  Moses  opened  the  inner  court. 
Beyond  this  was  a  holy  place  into  which  the  re- 


244  Evolution 

pentant  might  enter  only  once  a  year ;  and  be- 
yond this  was  a  holy  place  into  which  only  the 
high  priest  might  enter ;  while  at  the  centre  was 
a  place  dedicated  to  God  alone.  And  when  at  last 
the  sense  of  sin  was  developed  in  men,  then  to 
teach  the  prodigal  and  the  man  of  crimson  hands 
that  pardon  was  possible,  Moses  used  a  solemn 
ceremony  in  which  sins  were  placed  upon  the  head 
of  some  animal,  that  was  sent  away  accursed  into 
the  wilderness.  That  rude  folk  might  understand 
how  aspiration  and  love  and  hope  may  rise  to 
God,  the  smoking  censer  was  suspended  in  the 
temple,  and  the  sweet  incense  rising  in  clouds  and 
floating  through  the  window  to  pass  out  of  sight 
in  the  heavens  became  an  interpreter  of  aspiration 
as  a  chariot  in  which  the  soul  might  rise  toward 
God's  throne. 

And  when,  through  these  stately  and  solemn 
ceremonies,  through  hymns  and  sacrifices,  ideas 
of  sin  and  righteousness  and  God  were  developed, 
then  was  evolved  the  machinery  for  the  culture  of 
patriotism.  From  time  to  time  feasts  were  estab- 
lished in  the  capital  city  of  Jerusalem.  These  par- 
took of  the  nature  of  national  celebrations.  Out 
of  the  wilderness  and  the  desert  came  sheiks  and 
shepherds  ;  out  of  the  distant  villages  and  remote 
hamlets  came  the  people  in  multitudes,  and  all 


And  the  New  View  of  tine  Bible          245 

flocking  to  Jerusalem.  As  the  band  of  pilgrims 
neared  the  great  city,  the  crowds  increased  to  the 
dimensions  of  armies.  Here  were  the  children 
who  had  never  been  to  Jerusalem,  and  whose 
imagination  had  been  fed  by  the  stories  of  its 
magnificence ;  here  were  the  younger  men  who 
dreamed  of  reforms  they  would  work,  and  the 
older  men  who  prided  themselves  that  they  felt 
as  young  as  the  boys  whose  hands  they  held ;  here 
was  the  mother  with  her  sweet  babe ;  and  the 
maiden,  walking  beside  him  who  would  peradven- 
ture  be  her  husband ;  and  here  were  the  sages 
and  seers  who,  when  the  pilgrims  encamped,  in- 
structed the  multitudes.  What  schools  of  patriot- 
ism were  these  encampments !  What  colleges  of 
culture ! 

The  whole  nation  became,  as  it  were,  one  vast 
singing  school  for  the  rendition  of  national 
hymns.  In  the  evening,  on  the  return  journey, 
those  who  were  skilled  in  speech  rehearsed 
before  the  young  the  deeds  of  ancient  renown. 
The  names  of  the  heroes  were  struck  off  as  the 
harper  strikes  chord  after  chord.  At  these  times 
the  tides  of  national  enthusiasm  rose  very  high. 
This  it  is  that  enabled  the  Jewish  race  to  go 
through  fire  and  flood,  and  persist  as  a  separate 
race,  despite  persecutions  such  as  the  world  has 


246  Evolution 

never  known.  And  when  at  length,  through 
tabernacle  and  temple  with  its  offerings  and  sac- 
rifices, its  ceremonies  and  priests  had  planted 
and  developed  within  the  race  these  great  ideas 
of  right  and  wrong,  of  truth  and  justice,  of  con- 
science and  God,  then  Jesus  Christ  came  in  and 
swept  away  the  symbols  and  capitalized  the  ideas 
for  which  they  stood,  substituting  instead  two 
symbols  only,  that  by  reason  of  their  beauty  and 
simplicity  and  universal  relations  must  endure  as 
long  as  man  remains  man,  —  namely,  the  symbol 
of  water  as  the  type  of  purity,  and  the  symbol 
of  bread  and  wine  as  setting  forth  Him  who  is 
indeed  to  man  the  very  bread  and  water  of  life, 
since  in  Him  all  live  and  move  and  have  their 
being.  What  an  evolution,  therefore,  does  the 
Bible  exhibit  in  the  use  of  emblems  and  sym- 
bols !  The  distance  between  the  twilight  and 
the  full  moon  is  not  greater  than  that  covered 
by  society  as  it  moves  from  the  solemn  ceremo- 
nies of  Moses  to  the  simple  teachings  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  Bible  exhibits  a  similar  evolution  of  the 
idea  of  God.  John  Stuart  Mill  says,  "It  must 
be  that  the  adaptations  of  nature  afford  a  larger 
balance  of  probability  in  favor  of  creation  by 
intelligence."  Professor  Tyndall  adds,  "I  have 


And  the  New  View  of  the  Bible  247 

noticed  during  the  years  of  self-observation  that 
in  the  hours  of  stronger  and  healthier  thought, 
it  [mental  doubt]  ever  dissolves  and  disappears 
as  offering  no  solution  to  the  mystery  in  which 
we  dwell  and  of  which  we  form  a  part."  But 
back  of  all  this  vast  physical  universe  before 
whose  laws  we  were  crushed  as  moths,  the  Bible 
unveils  a  personal  intelligence  who  guides  and 
governs  all  things,  and  draws  all  things  upward 
in  ever  increasing  cycles  and  progress,  sweeping 
away  at  one  stroke  the  old  idea  that  there  are 
as  many  gods  and  godlings  as  there  are  natural 
laws.  The  monotheistic  idea  was  substituted 
instead.  Primarily  God  is  exhibited  as  one  who 
seeks  to  enthrone  righteousness  of  life  —  right 
laws,  right  government,  right  administration, 
right  conduct,  right  character.  And  because, 
when  men  are  in  a  state  of  animalism,  fear  is 
the  motive  most  powerfully  influencing  toward 
right  living,  God  is  exhibited  as  a  God  of  storms. 
The  clouds  are  His  chariots,  the  lightning  is 
the  flash  of  His  eye,  the  thunder  is  the  whisper 
of  His  voice,  the  hills  tremble  beneath  His  foot- 
steps. But  slowly,  as  reason  develops,  man 
passes  out  of  the  government  of  force  and  fear 
into  the  government  of  reason.  Therefore,  in 
Solomon's  day,  God  is  revealed  as  natural  law. 


248  Evolution 

Nature  speaks,  and  her  voice  is  the  voice  of 
God.  In  modern  language  it  is  the  voice  of 
physiology,  the  voice  of  health,  the  voice  of  the 
brain.  Men  are  incredulous  and  reckless.  They 
give  free  rein  to  appetite  and  passion.  By  excess 
they  sap  away  the  nerve  force  and  the  brain 
force,  and  fear  fastens  upon  them.  Then  Solo- 
mon represents  the  brain  and  nerve  as  breaking 
into  voice  and  saying :  "  I  have  called  and  ye 
refused  ;  I  have  stretched  out  my  hand  and  no 
man  regarded  it ;  therefore,  I  will  laugh  at  your 
calamity :  I  will  mock  when  your  fear  cometh  as 
desolation  and  your  destruction  as  a  whirlwind." 
To  this  idea  of  natural  law  and  of  justice,  Jonah 
adds  the  idea  of  mercy  and  compassion.  The 
poet  exhibits  God's  justice  as  bursting  into  the 
blossom  of  kindness  and  gentleness,  just  as 
the  rugged  cliffs  of  the  mountains  burst  forth 
into  the  rarest  flowers.  For  the  book  of  Jonah 
is  not  history,  but  is  a  parable  of  the  wideness 
of  God's  mercy.  Other  parables  are  beautiful, 
but  this  parable  stands  unexcelled  and  well-nigh 
unrivalled. 

How  beautiful  its  mother  idea !  That  all  men 
might  understand  the  wideness  of  God's  forgiv- 
ing mercy  a  story  is  told  of  a  certain  man  who 
found  the  way  of  happiness  and  the  way  of 


And  the  New  View  of  the  Bible          249 

peace.  Then  God  asked  him  to  carry  his  secret 
of  joy  into  wicked  Nineveh.  Disobeying  the 
voice  of  conscience,  when  he  should  have  gone 
over  land  eastward,  he  set  sail  to  the  west.  In- 
gratitude could  not  have  been  blacker,  for  to 
disobedience  toward  God  he  added  heartless 
neglect  of  the  perishing  multitudes.  Surely  the 
very  waves  of  the  sea  and  the  monsters  of  the 
deep  will  swallow  up  such  a  guilty  wretch.  But 
such  is  God's  kindness  and  mercy  that  He  not 
only  saves  the  disobedient  messenger  when  his 
companions  in  the  storm  throw  him  overboard, 
but  commands  the  very  monsters  of  the  deep  to 
become  instruments  of  safety  and  doors  of  deliv- 
erance. For  a  non-seagoing  race  like  the  Jewish 
people,  no  door  of  mercy  could  be  so  full  of  mean- 
ing. 

This  beautiful  parable  is  the  prodigal  son  par- 
able of  the  Old  Testament.  Scoffed  at  often- 
times, made  a  butt  of  ridicule  because  foolish 
men  have  thought  it  to  be  history,  this  parable 
of  Jonah  represents  the  crowning  revelation  of 
the  wideness  of  God's  mercy,  foreshadowing  the 
full  revelation  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ.  Very 
slowly,  therefore,  did  the  idea  of  God  develop. 
Slowly  each  new  faculty  in  man  became  a  win- 
dow that  enlarged  with  culture,  and  through  it 


250  Evolution 

some  new  quality  of  God  rushed  into  sight. 
When  man  lived  only  in  the  realm  of  physical 
nature,  God  was  the  sun,  the  great  rock,  the 
storm.  When  government  elements  developed, 
He  became  king,  prince,  and  ruler.  When  com- 
merce developed,  and  the  Roman  roads  united 
distant  nations,  He  became  a  door,  a  way,  a  wall 
for  protection,  and  the  bread  and  water  of  life 
for  pilgrims.  With  the  development  of  the  do- 
mestic elements,  He  became  father  and  brother 
and  friend,  and  when  at  length  God  had  wrought 
in  man  the  qualities  of  truth,  justice,  and  gentle- 
ness, then  the  terror  left  the  divine  brow,  the 
lightning  left  His  eye,  and  Christ  revealed  God 
as  the  God  of  mercy,  the  all-clasping  One,  and 
the  all-forgiving  One.  Fear  gave  place  to  love- 
fear.  For  Abraham's  idea  of  God  is  to  the  idea 
of  God  in  Christ  what  the  wild  arbutus  is  to  the 
full  wealth  of  summer,  what  one  cluster  is  to  all 
harvests  and  viifeyards.  For  Christ  sweeps  to- 
gether all  the  richest  ideas  of  nature  and  life, 
and  empties  the  full  treasures  of  mind  and  heart 
into  the  receptacle  called  the  name  of  God,  the 
name  of  wonder,  the  name  of  love,  the  name 
above  every  name. 

Therefore,    men   should   reopen   this    book    of 
morals   and    of    mercy  that    of    late    has    been 


And  the  New  View  of  the  Bible          251 

closed.  Finding  human  elements  in  it,  let  us 
find  the  divine  also,  even  as  we  find  the  living 
seed  beneath  the  outer  shell.  Let  reason  come 
to  it  for  food  as  the  disciples  came  to  the  ears 
of  wheat,  rubbing  out  the  grain  for  hunger.  Let 
none  emphasize  errors  in  geology  and  astronomy. 
Does  a  grain  of  sand  in  some  Venus  de  Milo 
invalidate  Phidias's  revelation  of  the  beautiful  ? 
Does  Shakespeare's  ignorance  of  the  recent  dis- 
coveries in  psychology  destroy  the  truth  and 
beauty  of  "Hamlet"?  The  Bible  is  a  lamp,  but 
the  pilgrim  of  the  night  does  not  look  at  his 
lamp  for  flaws,  but  looks  rather  at  the  dangerous 
path  and  the  precipice  against  which  the  light 
doth  guard.  If  knowledge  has  destroyed  the  old 
view,  that  Moses  was  a  mere  pen  held  in  a 
divine  hand,  then  let  larger  knowledge  give  the 
broader  view,  that  through  father  and  mother 
God  ordained  each  Moses  and  David  and  Paul 
and  guarded  him  for  a  new  task.  But  remember 
that  this  broader  view  of  inspiration  renders  the 
Bible  a  thousand  fold  more  truly  binding  as  the 
book  of  God  than  did  the  old  view  of  inspira- 
tion. Neither  let  any  one  lose  his  faith  because 
it  is  not  an  infallible  book,  in  the  sense  that  all 
writers  were  made  infallible  in  chemistry  and 
astronomy  ;  that  all  copyists  and  translators  and 


252  Evolution 

printers  are  infallibly  girded  and  guided.  Euclid 
is  an  infallible  book,  having  no  mistake  in  its 
axioms  of  geometry.  But  infallibility  has  not 
made  Euclid's  book  inspiring  progress. 

The  heart  hungers  —  not  for  an  infallible  book, 
but  for  a  revelation  of  God.  And  the  time  has 
fully  come  when  this  book  is  seen  to  be  a  history 
of  the  evolution  of  the  moral  sense  in  man,  a  guide 
to  the  principles  of  happiness  and  conduct  and 
character,  a  revelation  of  the  dispositional  qualities 
of  God.  It  is  of  itself  so  unique  an  illustration  of 
the  principle  of  evolution  as  to  be  the  miracle  of 
all  time.  So  far  from  man  having  outgrown  it, 
society  is  just  approaching  the  era  when  it  is 
beginning  to  appreciate  it,  and  understand  its  mes- 
sage and  its  mission.  If,  a  thousand  generations 
from  now,  there  is  a  heart  that  aches,  prodigals 
that  wander,  feet  that  stumble,  tears  that  fall  like 
rain,  if  man  remains  man,  and  love  remains  love, 
and  character  remains  character,  this  book  will 
remain,  shining  and  glowing,  like  the  lustrous 
sun. 

Read  this  book,  therefore,  for  life  and  liberty ; 
read  it  for  refinement  and  culture.  Read  the 
pages  wet  with  your  mother's  tears  and  the  pre- 
cepts your  father  dearly  loved.  Stoop  to  those 
life  springs  where  the  patriots  and  reformers  and 


And  tbe  New  View  of  the  Bible          253 

the  heroes  of  time  knelt  to  cool  their  parched  lips. 
It  holds  youth  for  old  men.  It  holds  maturity  for 
children  and  youth.  It  has  medicine  for  the 
heartbroken,  the  bankrupt,  and  the  desolate.  It 
has  life  for  those  trembling  on  the  brink  of  death. 
If  for  one  day  in  each  week,  through  a  period  of 
five  years,  the  children  and  youth,  parents  and 
patriots,  could  be  induced  to  read  and  obey  its 
principles,  to  nourish  reason  and  imagination  and 
memory  and  judgment  upon  its  sublime  truths, 
all  danger  of  anarchy  and  revolution,  all  fear  of 
the  bloody  street  and  the  trampled  cornfields  would 
pass  away.  The  jails  would  be  closed.  The 
saloons  would  be  deserted.  The  schools  would  be 
crowded.  The  colleges  would  be  filled.  A  new 
glory  would  fall  upon  the  library  and  the  forum. 
A  new  era  would  dawn  for  music  and  poetry. 
Architecture  would  tax  itself  for  glorious  temples. 
Art  would  enter  upon  a  new  epoch,  and  liberty 
would  find  a  new  meaning.  All  society  would 
enter  upon  a  great  forward  movement.  For  God's 
book  of  morals  and  mercy  for  the  individual  is  His 
book  of  progress  for  society  and  civilization. 


XI 


&bring  of  tjje  $enoulum  from  .Scepticism 
to  fair!):  an  ©utlooft  for  tfjose  fojjo  are 
seeking  to  solbe  ttjetr  $9oufots  anU  reconstruct 
a 


"The  infinite  and  eternal  Power  that  is  manifested  in  every 
pulsation  of  the  universe  is  none  other  than  the  living  God. 
We  may  exhaust  the  resources  of  metaphysics  in  debating 
how  far  his  nature  may  fitly  be  expressed  in  terms  applicable 
to  the  psychical  nature  of  Man ;  such  vain  attempts  will  only 
serve  to  show  how  we  are  dealing  with  a  theme  that  must 
ever  transcend  our  finite  powers  of  conception.  But  of  some 
things  we  may  feel  sure.  Humanity  is  not  a  mere  local  inci- 
dent in  an  endless  and  aimless  series  of  cosmical  changes. 
The  events  of  the  universe  are  not  the  work  of  chance, 
neither  are  they  the  outcome  of  blind  necessity.  Practically 
there  is  a  purpose  in  the  world  whereof  it  is  our  highest  duty 
to  learn  the  lesson,  however  well  or  ill  we  may  fare  in  render- 
ing a  scientific  account  of  it.  When,  from  the  dawn  of  life, 
we  see  all  things  working  together  toward  the  evolution  of 
the  highest  spiritual  attributes  of  Man,  we  know,  however  the 
words  may  stumble  in  which  we  try  to  say  it,  that  God  is  in 
the  deepest  sense  a  moral  Being.  The  everlasting  source  of 
phenomena  is  none  other  than  the  infinite  Power  that  makes 
for  righteousness.  Thou  canst  not  by  searching  find  Him 
out;  yet  put  thy  trust  in  Him,  and  against  thee  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail ;  for  there  is  neither  wisdom  nor 
understanding  nor  counsel  against  the  Eternal." 

— JOHN  FISKE,  "The  Idea  of  God,"  pp.  166-167. 


256 


XI 


THE  SWING  OF  THE  PENDULUM  FROM  SCEPTICISM 
TO  FAITH  :  AN  OUTLOOK  FOR  THOSE  WHO  ARE 
SEEKING  TO  SOLVE  THEIR  DOUBTS  AND  RECON- 
STRUCT A  WORKING  FAITH 

Christianity  challenges  investigation.  Forbids  faith  out- 
running the  facts.  It  appeals  to  reason.  Exhibits  founda- 
tions founded  like  mountains  and  stars.  From  the  beginning 
God  ordained  reason  to  be  man's  guide.  The  gains  for 
society  the  gains  of  reason.  Faith  as  an  extended  reason. 
The  work  of  imagination  the  function  of  trust.  Doubt  and 
its  tragedy.  Scepticism  and  the  fascinations  of  the  universe 
in  space.  Scepticism  and  the  extension  of  the  universe  in 
time.  Scepticism  and  the  mysteries  of  matter,  force  and  life. 
Scepticism  and  moral  evil.  Doubt  and  the  problem  of  pain 
and  suffering.  All  knowledge  partial.  The  Christian  and 
agnostic.  "  We  know  in  part."  A  cup  of  water  explains  the 
ocean.  Man's  knowledge  of  some  things  not  destroyed  by 
the  impossibility  of  knowing  everything.  Kinds  of  doubt. 
The  dissolution  of  doubt.  The  building  of  faith.  Mental 
rest  and  peace. 

CHRISTIANITY  challenges  investigation.  It 
^--/  covets  analysis  and  exhibits  its  proofs.  With 
the  calm  confidence  that  becometh  certainties,  it 
takes  nothing  for  granted,  but  thrusts  everything 
into  reason's  crucible.  No  man  is  asked  to  believe 
s  257 


258  The  Swing  of  the  Pendulum 

against  his  judgment.  Rather  is  he  to  withhold 
faith  until  the  argument  overcomes  his  doubts  and 
compels  his  belief.  Christianity's  spirit  forbids 
faith  outrunning  the  facts.  Not  that  sound  think- 
ing and  sturdy  speaking  invariably  go  before  men- 
tal peace  and  happiness.  The  eye  sees  long  before 
the  child  understands  the  visual  mechanism.  The 
nostril  enjoys  the  red  rose  years  before  the  mind 
can  state  the  chemistry  of  the  sweet  brier.  Never- 
theless, clear,  crisp,  robust  thinking  works  in  us 
mental  confidence  and  security.  Each  jurist  and 
orator  and  reformer  must  confess  that  he  never 
understands  how  strong  or  weak  his  cause  is 
until  it  has  been  stated  in  words. 

The  architects  of  the  old  cathedrals  thrust  their 
buttresses  out  into  the  light,  that  through  the  eye 
men  may  feel  the  strength  of  the  huge  walls.  The 
sight  of  the  arches  under  the  Brooklyn  Bridge 
may  not  increase  the  traveller's  safety,  but  that 
sight  does  increase  the  sense  of  safety.  Christian- 
ity's appeal  is  to  the  reason.  Its  foundations 
are  facts  and  arguments.  When  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  set  up  in  a  man's  soul,  reason  is  asked  to 
go  round  about  its  walls  and  tell  all  its  buttresses. 
Ignorant  faith  may  quake  and  clamor  at  doubt, 
and  bespatter  sceptics  with  hard  and  bitter  names. 
But  such  fear  reveals  weakness.  It  is  the  poor 


From  Scepticism  to  Faith  259 

swimmer  that  cries  and  splashes  amidst  the  swift 
waters,  and  the  loudness  of  his  cry  betrays  the 
certainty  of  his  sinking.  He  needs  no  loud  cries, 
but  skill  to  swim  to  the  solid  shore.  Newton  never 
quaked  and  trembled  in  the  presence  of  one  who 
doubted  the  laws  of  gravity.  In  bidding  each 
marshal  the  reasons  for  his  hope,  Christianity  be- 
trays its  calm  confidence,  and  exhibits  foundations 
of  granite  established  as  surely  as  the  mountains 
and  stars. 

In  the  beginning  God  ordained  reason  to  be 
man's  guide.  When  first  He  sent  man  away  for 
his  earthly  tutelage,  God  called  an  angel  named 
Reason  to  His  side,  saying,  "  This  is  man,  My 
well  beloved  one ;  go  forth  with  him,  guide  him 
through  life,  and  when  earth  hath  fully  wrought 
its  ministry  upon  him,  aid  faith  in  bringing  man 
back  to  his  Father's  side."  Having  received  this 
divine  charge,  reason  went  forth  to  be  for  untold 
ages  man's  sole  friend.  During  two-thirds  of  its 
history,  the  human  race  was  without  church  or 
altar,  without  sacrament  or  teacher.  There  were 
no  commandments  of  right  and  wrong,  save  those 
fleshed  in  the  human  body.  Man  was  left  to  fash- 
ion his  own  career.  Stepping  upon  this  planet 
reason  began  to  explore  upon  every  side,  as  Colum- 
bus explored  the  edge  of  the  forest.  Slowly  the 


260  The  Swing  of  the  Pendulum 

frontier  lines  began  to  recede.  Each  century  the 
unknown  things  diminished  and  the  known  things 
increased.  For  reason,  the  hand  reported  upon 
heat  and  cold  and  the  weight  of  stones.  For  rea- 
son, the  tongue  reported  upon  acids  and  sweets. 
For  reason,  the  taste  reported  upon  landscapes 
and  faces  and  skies.  In  reason's  interest,  the  ear 
tested  sounds,  the  judgment  tested  arguments, 
the  conscience  tested  motives  and  actions.  Soon 
the  soil  gave  up  its  secrets,  the  bark  its  balms,  the 
mines  their  tools,  the  herbs  their  medicines,  the 
forests  their  forces.  The  winds  ceased  to  blow 
aimlessly;  reason  bade  them  beat  upon  the  sail. 
All  rivers  were  harnessed  to  millwheels. 

The  lightnings  became  errand  boys.  The  rude 
forces  that  once  terrified  men  became  as  wild 
horses  subject  to  bit  and  bridle  and  lending 
their  strength  and  speed  to  man's  loins.  Even 
terrible  things  lost  their  fear.  The  nymph  left 
the  stream,  the  dryad  fled  away  from  the  forest, 
the  ghost  departed  from  the  cave,  and  the  human 
brain  ceased  to  be  inhabited  by  serpentine  fears 
and  superstitions.  Reason  also  helped  man  to 
distinguish  between  the  illusions  and  the  reali- 
ties. Before  the  child  the  rainbow  stands  forth 
a  solid  arch  of  color.  The  benighted  traveller 
moves  toward  the  "  will  o'  the  wisp "  and  the 


From  Scepticism  to  Faith  261 

dangerous  bog  as  toward  the  home  candle. 
Many  a  desert  pilgrim  has  perished  through 
mistaking  the  mirage  for  cooling  lake  and  river. 
And  reason  came  in  as  an  upper  faculty  to  cor- 
rect the  mistakes  of  the  lower  powers.  Speaking 
not  lies,  but  the  truth,  reason  reported  the  affairs 
of  the  great  world  about  him.  God  ordained 
that  it  should  keep  man  from  feeding  upon  husks 
and  empty  bubbles.  Analyzing,  testing,  compar- 
ing, reason  cast  out  foolish  things.  It  wrought 
as  a  wind,  driving  the  husks  of  error  out  of  the 
wheat  of  truth.  It  wrought  as  a  fire,  burning 
up  the  dross  of  ignorance  and  leaving  the  gold 
of  divine  certainty.  So  well  did  reason  do  its 
work  that  God  stamped  His  approval  upon  it 
with  these  words,  "Wisdom  is  better  than  rubies, 
and  knowledge  than  fine  gold." 

But  the  last  part  of  reason's  work  is  filling 
man's  granary,  inventing  his  tools,  building  his 
home,  writing  his  books,  organizing  his  institu- 
tions. God  has  also  ordained  that  reason  should 
extend  its  work  into  the  realm  of  conscience 
and  duty.  Consider  that  faith  is  only  a  winged 
reason.  It  is  mind  at  its  best.  The  tongue 
tastes  the  orange,  but  cannot  reach  the  bough. 
So  the  arm  is  made  long  in  the  interests  of 
hunger.  But  the  arm  is  too  short  to  reach  the 


262  The  Swing  of  the  Pendulum 

distant  mountain.  Therefore  the  eye  becomes  a 
longer  hand  that  feels  its  way  into  each  crevice 
of  the  far-off  peak.  But  the  eye  breaks  down  at 
the  horizon.  Then  reason  becomes  a  longer  vis- 
ion and  projects  over  the  hills  the  laws  of  heat 
and  cold  and  gravity,  imposing  them  upon  unseen 
lands  and  seas.  Thus  faith  is  seen  to  be  reason 
extending  the  law  of  God  in  an  unseen  realm. 
Newton  saw  the  apple  fall,  but  his  faith  leaped 
from  the  falling  apple  to  the  falling  moon  and 
discovered  the  law  of  gravity. 

Upon  the  shores  of  Spain  Columbus  found  a 
bit  of  driftwood  with  a  grain  of  sand  in  the 
crevice.  From  the  bit  of  wood  his  mind  leaped 
to  the  distant  forests  from  which  it  sprang ;  from 
the  grain  of  sand  he  passed  to  the  continent  of 
which  it  was  a  part.  And  every  great  invention 
has  been  a  faith  discovery.  When  for  the  first 
time  Watts's  rude  engine  worked,  he  exclaimed 
to  an  admiring  friend,  "You  see  it  now  by  the 
physical  eye,  but  long  months  ago  I  saw  it  work 
with  my  mind's  eye."  Imagination  fashioned  his 
mental  model,  and  faith  set  it  up  in  iron  and 
steel.  Similarly,  by  faith  Garrison  won  his  vic- 
tory over  slavery  a  score  of  years  before  the 
battle  was  fought.  Without  faith  social  progress 
would  be  impossible  and  society  relapse  into 


From  Scepticism  to  Faith  263 

barbarism.  By  faith  we  receive  the  knowledge 
of  our  planet  from  the  Bakers  and  the  Stanleys. 
Life  is  too  short  for  us  to  tramp  through  all  dark 
continents. 

By  faith  we  receive  our  knowledge  of  the  rise 
of  civilization  and  the  early  history  of  mankind. 
We  cannot,  with  Layard  or  Niebuhr,  give  years 
to  deciphering  ruins,  monuments,  and  manu- 
scripts. By  faith  we  pass  through  the  starry 
worlds,  being  enriched  by  results  whose  mathe- 
matical processes  only  astronomers  have  verified. 
In  sickness,  by  faith  in  physicians  are  we  healed. 
In  government,  by  faith  in  officers  are  we 
guided.  In  commerce,  by  faith  in  man  does  the 
great  fabric  of  industry  move  forward.  Take  faith 
out  of  commerce  and  you  have  bankruptcy.  Take 
faith  out  of  the  home  and  you  have  hell.  Take 
faith  from  government  and  you  have  anarchy. 
Faith  is  glorified  reason.  All  the  giants  and 
epoch-making  men  have  been  faith  men.  Faith 
is  intellect-illumined  mind  at  its  best. 

Such  is  the  problem  of  reason  and  faith.  It 
follows  that  the  religious  problem  no  more  be- 
longs to  the  church  than  the  mountains  belong 
to  Humboldt  or  the  stars  to  Newton.  Faith  is 
not  a  question  of  the  church,  but,  as  Cicero  said, 
"of  the  human  heart."  Nevertheless,  there  are 


264  The  Swing  of  the  Pendulum 

multitudes  upon  whom  doubt  has  fallen,  gashing 
and  scorching  their  souls  as  with  swords  of  fire. 
Faith  has  waned,  doubt  has  waxed.  The  lives  of 
some  have  become  pathetic  tragedies,  for  their 
doubts  spring  out  of  their  highest  nature  and 
their  noblest  faculties.  Oftentimes  these  persons 
seem  like  mariners  who  once  were  anchored  in 
harbors,  safe  and  peaceful,  but  who  have  seen 
the  ropes  part  strand  by  strand,  until,  anchor- 
less and  rudderless,  they  have  drifted  out  into 
the  sea  and  the  night. 

Multitudes  have  fallen  into  doubt  by  reason  of 
the  vastness  of  the  problems  that  front  them. 
Remembering  that  this  life  is  but  a  narrow  span 
of  four  score  years,  man  stands  dumb  before  the 
statement  that  for  millions  of  years  the  earth 
has  swung  in  space,  turning  daily  before  the  sun 
fires  to  warm  its  seas  and  continents,  its  forests 
and  fields  teeming  with  life.  But  the  astronomer 
is  not  content  with  such  amazing  statements. 
Having  reminded  us  that  the  sun  is  90,000,000 
miles  away,  some  Proctor  or  Ball  leads  our 
thought  on  to  Sirius,  —  a  sun  moving  at  a  dis- 
tance two  hundred  times  as  great  as  ours.  There, 
upon  what  seems  the  confines  of  space,  stands 
this  vast  sparkling  orb,  flooding  with  life  and 
beauty  worlds  a  hundred  thousand  times  as  large 


From  Scepticism  to  Faitb  265 

as  ours.  Yet  beyond  Sirius,  and  still  beyond,  is 
a  space  all  sown  with  innumerable  harvests  of 
starry  systems.  Remembering  that  nature  wastes 
nothing,  that  every  drop  of  water  teems  with  life, 
that  the  rift  in  every  mountain  crag  holds  its 
wild  flower,  that  the  very  sand  blossoms,  the 
scientist  suggests  that  the  vast  orbs  about  us 
are  all  populated,  the  inhabitants  of  other  worlds 
rising,  perhaps,  rank  on  rank  and  order  upon 
order. 

In  the  presence  of  such  amazing  thoughts  many 
sensitive  minds  are  overwhelmed.  Our  earth  is 
reduced  to  a  little  clod.  Man  seems  but  a  single 
atom  buffeted  by  chance.  With  him  forces  of 
life  and  death  play  at  battledoor  and  shuttlecock. 
The  white  haired  old  man  represents  one  sheaf 
of  earth.  The  deep  furrows  in  his  face  are  but 
graves,  in  which  his  strengths  lie  buried.  In 
such  a  universe  it  seems  impossible  that  the 
infinite  God  should  have  time  to  think  and  care 
for  such  an  atom  as  man.  For  a  time  even 
Tennyson  trembled  lest  his  prayer  was  lost  in 
the  rush  of  worlds,  even  as  the  sweet  voice  of 
the  lark  is  drowned  in  the  sweep  and  majesty 
of  the  summer's  storm.  Oftentimes  overmuch 
fuel  on  the  fire  smothers  the  flame  into  cold 
ashes.  Thus  the  vastness  of  the  universe 


266  The  Swing  of  the  Pendulum 

smothers  the  faith  of  some.  These  utterly  for- 
get that  if  Shakespeare's  mind  is  more  than  one 
candle,  his  genius  is  more  than  billions  of  candles 
called  suns ;  that  if  Newton's  mind  is  more  than 
one  clod,  his  genius  is  more  than  billions  of  clods 
called  earths.  Bewildered  with  many  thoughts 
and  things,  obscuration  passes  over  the  intellect 
and  faith  is  eclipsed. 

Other  minds  fall  into  doubt  because  of  life's 
troubles  and  disasters.  These  children  of  anx- 
iety wander  in  a  cold,  bleak,  arctic  atmosphere, 
longing  for  summer,  yet  shivering  midst  the  bleak 
winter.  There  seems  such  an  awful  cruelty  in 
nature,  so  large  a  place  is  given  to  hook  and 
claw,  life's  inequalities  are  so  many  and  so  baf- 
fling, the  calamities  of  life  are  so  all-inclusive, 
that  some  despair  of  ever  reconciling  the  cruelty 
of  nature  with  the  goodness  of  God.  John 
Stuart  Mill  was  utterly  overwhelmed  by  his 
study  of  the  disasters  that  have  overtaken  our 
race.  God  seemed  to  him  like  one  who  had 
invented  a  mechanism  so  large  as  to  have  passed 
beyond  his  control.  In  great  anguish  of  heart 
he  followed  after  his  faith  as  one  follows  a  fall- 
ing star.  Nor  is  there  any  man  of  intelligence 
who  has  not  at  times  been  agonized  by  the  prob- 
lems of  evil.  Why  is  man  shipwrecked  into 


From  Scepticism  to  Faith  267 

existence  ?  Why  does  he  begin  utterly  ignorant 
of  the  shore  upon  which  he  is  cast  ?  Why  is  each 
land  swept  with  wars  like  destroying  storms  ? 
Why  do  enemies  pass  through  villages  with  more 
than  the  force  of  tidal  waves  ?  Why  have  wars 
and  pestilence  a  power  beyond  the  power  of 
earthquakes  for  toppling  down  cities  ?  Why  does 
blood  floyr  like  rivers? 

Is  there  an  individual  that  can  escape  sick- 
ness, or  ingratitude,  or  the  ravages  of  sin,  or  the 
agony  of  separation,  or  the  final  shaft  of  death  ? 
Not  one.  All  pass  into  the  storm.  Reflecting 
upon  these  problems,  many  think  our  world  an 
orb  let  loose  to  wander  wildly  in  space.  They 
forget  that  darkness  can  do  what  daylight  can- 
not ;  that  the  winter  puts  a  tang  into  an  apple 
that  is  beyond  the  power  of  the  summer;  that 
an  atmosphere  uncleansed  by  the  summer's 
storms  becomes  heavy  with  poisons  that  destroy 
all  harvests ;  that  if  the  statue  is  polished,  the 
fire  must  fly  from  the  chisel ;  that  character  is 
an  achievement ;  that  every  fall  of  the  race  has 
been  overruled  and  made  to  be  a  fall  forward ; 
that  events  that  once  seemed  bad  as  heart  could 
wish  have  afterward  proved  to  be  the  events  for 
which  man  is  chiefly  grateful.  In  their  doubt 
and  fear  many  seem  like  unto  children  in  a 


268  The  Swing  of  tbe  Pendulum 

valley  wrapped  in  rain  and  storm.  While  the  storm 
lasts,  the  child  cannot  see  that  the  hills  about  him 
are  robed  in  light,  and  that  the  father  stands  upon 
the  mountain  in  the  clear  sunshine,  rejoicing  in 
the  very  rain  over  which  the  children  weep. 

Others  there  are  whose  faith  is  agnostic.  Be- 
cause everything  cannot  be  known,  some  think 
nothing  can.  Materialism  says  there  is  no  spirit. 
Secularism  says  there  is  no  other  life.  Atheism 
says  there  is  no  God.  Agnosticism  says  if  there 
is  a  God  He  cannot  be  known.  Many  perceive 
that  the  dome  of  the  sky  is  vaster  than  the  dome 
of  St.  Peter's,  and  hold  that  the  architect  of  the 
sky  should  be  larger  than  Michael  Angelo.  They 
also  feel  that  it  is  asking  too  much  to  expect 
mere  particles  of  dust  to  prepare  a  formula  for 
the  strawberry  or  the  peach,  or  so  temper  the 
dew  and  the  rain  and  the  heat  as  to  embroider 
all  the  fields  with  harvests.  As  no  stream  can 
rise  above  its  source,  they  confess  that  the  men- 
tality in  a  machine  cannot  be  greater  than  the 
genius  of  its  inventor.  They  also  hold  there 
can  be  no  book  without  an  author,  no  watch 
without  a  maker,  no  thought  without  a  thinker, 
and  no  world  mechanism  without  a  world  mind 
whose  genius  is  fully  equal  to  the  forms  of  wis- 
dom and  beauty  that  he  has  fashioned. 


From  Scepticism  to  Faith  269 

But  in  affirming  God's  existence,  they  also 
affirm  that  His  vastness  obscures  His  face  in 
some  such  way  as  the  brightness  of  the  sun 
dazzles  the  eye  that  beholds  it.  Many  seem  to 
forget  that  as  the  world  increases  in  size  the 
difficulty  in  tramping  over  it  increases.  Our 
eyes  have  never  seen  the  Southern  Cross  in  the 
sky.  But  the  people  of  Brazil  have  never  seen 
the  Northern  Star ;  and  a  vast  earth  involves 
this  partial  knowledge.  Because  man  cannot 
drink  the  ocean  dry,  it  seems  wholly  unnecessary 
to  deny  that  he  can  understand  the  nature  of  a 
drop  of  water.  One  cluster  reveals  the  essential 
nature  of  all  the  vineyards  that  enrich  our  earth. 
The  Bible  itself  encourages  the  agnostic  ten- 
dency. "We  know  but  in  part."  That  would 
be  a  poor  form  of  government  that  a  babe  could 
perfectly  understand.  How  poor  is  that  paint- 
ing that  a  tyro  in  colors  can  equal.  How  scant 
the  symphonies  that  amateurs  can  dash  off.  Wise 
men  find  hope  in  the  fact  that  knowledge  of  God 
is  partial.  The  charm  of  immortality  is  the 
riches  of  the  divine  nature,  and  its  perpetual 
challenge  to  better  things.  None  will  ever  be 
disappointed  in  that  he  overtakes  God.  Man 
must  ever  know  but  "in  part." 

And  in  sorrow  let  us  confess  that  doubt  some- 


270  The  Swing  of  the  Pendulum 

times  springs  from  causes  not  wholly  creditable 
to  man.  There  are  thoughtful  and  high-minded 
persons  of  sensitive  consciences  and  deeply  re- 
ligious instincts,  who  have  been  driven  into  exile 
by  the  bitter  intolerance  of  dogmatists.  Unfor- 
tunately it  is  the  delight  of  some  not  to  heal  and 
help  hurt  hearts,  but  to  thunder  forth  anathemas 
upon  those  whose  doubts  are  born  of  intellectual 
honesty  and  an  eager  passion  to  get  truth  in 
clear  light.  And  some  there  are  whose  doubts 
are  temperamental.  These  are  born  belligerents, 
questioning  everything.  It  is  their  nature  to 
lay  the  axe  to  the  root  of  every  tree,  whether  the 
growth  be  social,  industrial,  or  religious.  Others 
have  confused  the  essence  of  Christianity  with 
the  outer  traditions,  mistaking  chaff  for  wheat, 
and  judging  the  tree,  not  by  its  fruit,  but  by  the 
parasites  clinging  thereto.  And  there  is  a  grow- 
ing number  of  those  who  are  so  absorbed  with 
the  cares  of  life  that  they  have  neither  time  nor 
strength  for  the  higher  life. 

When  a  friend  from  the  city  visited  Words- 
worth in  his  home  near  Grasmere,  the  poet 
planned  a  walk  across  his  favorite  hills.  Such 
were  the  charms  of  lake  and  woods  and  birds  and 
golden  boughs  that  the  poet  was  in  a  transport 
of  delight.  But  his  city  friend  moved  through 


From  Scepticism  to  Faith  271 

the  wondrous  scene  with  eyes  blind  to  all  beauty 
and  ears  deaf  to  all  sweet  sound.  The  counting- 
room  seemed  to  fill  his  thought,  to  the  exclusion 
of  all  else.  Not  infrequently,  too,  doubt  springs 
out  of  sin.  The  ancients  tell  us  of  a  lake  called 
Avernus.  From  its  surface  clouds  of  poisoned 
vapors  rise.  Inhaling  this  deadly  air,  the  eagle 
with  its  strength  and  the  lark  with  its  sweet 
song  alike  fall  into  the  dark  flood.  And  when 
self-indulgence  strengthens,  faith  weakens.  Faith 
is  a  very  sensitive  plant.  It  shrinks  back  at 
the  very  thought  of  sin. 

There  are  also  hypercritical  doubters.  Thus 
Matthew  Arnold's  nature  was  so  highly  aes- 
thetic that  his  sensibilities  were  wounded  by 
the  mercantilism  of  the  English  and  the  econ- 
omy of  the  Scotch.  Even  Plato  seemed  to 
him  somewhat  crude.  In  that  little  episode, 
known  as  his  visit  to  Chicago,  his  finer  sensi- 
bilities were  so  painfully  lacerated  by  the  mate- 
rialism of  that  city  that  whole  weeks  passed  before 
he  recovered  from  the  awful  shock.  When  at 
length  Arnold  died  the  novelist  Stevenson  ex- 
claimed :  "  Poor  Matt !  He  is  in  heaven,  but 
he  won't  like  God."  A  sarcasm  biting  indeed, 
and  fitted  to  consume  away  all  our  supercilious 
doubts.  And  other  doubts  spring  from  callow 


272  Tfa  Swing  of  the  Pendulum 

crudeness,  as  in  the  case  of  that  youth  about  to 
enter  Balliol  College,  who  told  Professor  Jowett 
that  he  could  find  no  signs  of  God.  To  whom 
the  great  Platonist  replied,  "Young  man  I  will 
give  you  until  just  five  o'clock  to  find  God  or 
leave  this  college."  At  the  appointed  time  he 
returned,  having  found  Him  for  whom  his  soul 
had  sought,  not  long,  but  successfully.  And 
there  are  some  whose  doubts  are  sheer  indeci- 
sion, like  the  old  farmer  appointed  to  judge  of 
the  discussion  between  an  infidel  and  a  believer, 
and  who,  unwilling  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  either, 
rendered  his  decision  in  these  words  :  "The  first 
speaker  believes  in  God,  the  second  does  not. 
The  truth  seems  to  lie  between  the  two." 
Midst  all  these  false  and  foolish  fancies  it  were 
well  for  us  to  remember  with  Ruskin  that  God's 
way  of  revealing  Himself  to  His  creatures  should 
be  a  simple  way,  which  all  those  creatures  may 
understand. 

Whether  taught  or  untaught,  whether  of  mean 
capacity  or  enlarged,  it  is  necessary  that  com- 
munion with  their  Creator  should  be  possible 
to  all  ;  and  the  admission  to  such  communion 
must  be  rested,  not  on  their  having  a  knowledge 
of  astronomy,  but  on  their  having  a  human  soul. 
In  order  to  render  this  communion  possible,  the 


From  Scepticism  to  Faith  273 

Deity  has  stepped  from  His  throne,  and  has  not 
only,  in  the  person  of  the  Son,  taken  upon  Him 
the  veil  of  our  human  flesh,  but,  in  the  person 
of  the  Father,  taken  upon  Him  the  veil  of  our 
human  thoughts,  and  permitted  us,  by  His  own 
spoken  authority,  to  conceive  Him  simply  and 
clearly  as  a  loving  Father  and  Friend — a  Being 
to  be  walked  with  and  reasoned  with ;  to  be 
moved  by  our  entreaties,  angered  by  our  rebel- 
lion, alienated  by  our  coldness,  pleased  by  our 
love,  and  glorified  by  our  labor ;  and  finally,  to 
be  beheld  in  immediate  and  active  presence  in 
all  the  powers  and  changes  of  creation.  This 
conception  of  God,  which  is  the  child's,  is  evi- 
dently the  only  one  which  can  be  universal,  and 
therefore  the  only  one  which  for  us  can  be  true. 
The  moment  that,  in  our  pride  of  heart,  we  re- 
fuse to  accept  the  condescension  of  the  Almighty, 
and  desire  Him,  instead  of  stooping  to  hold  our 
hands,  to  rise  up  before  us  into  His  glory,  —  we 
hoping  that  by  standing  on  a  grain  of  dust  or 
two  of  human  knowledge  higher  than  our  fellows, 
we  may  behold  the  Creator  as  He  rises,  —  God 
takes  us  at  our  word  ;  He  rises  into  His  own  invis- 
ible and  inconceivable  majesty;  He  goes  forth 
upon  the  ways  which  are  not  our  ways ;  and 
retires  into  the  thoughts  which  are  not  our 


274  The  Swing  of  the  Pendulum 

thoughts ;  and  we  are  left  alone.  And  pres- 
ently we  say  in  our  vain  hearts,  "There  is  no 
God." 

Seeking  to  dissolve  our  doubts,  we  may  well  re- 
joice to-day  that  science  is  leading  all  feet  back 
into  the  pathway  of  faith.  Recently  the  president 
of  the  British  Society  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  mentioned  a  distinguished  mathematician 
as  the  first  scientist  of  our  century.  Now,  this 
great  electrician  once  said  that  science  on  bended 
knee  should  beg  the  pardon  of  the  Creator  for 
the  blindness  that  could  not  see  the  existence 
of  the  Supreme  Mind.  For  the  electrician  the 
ooze  of  old  ocean  could  never  explain  this  beauti- 
ful world  house.  When  the  peasant  ploughing  in 
the  island  of  Milos  struck  that  statue  of  Venus 
de  Milo,  all  minds  accounted  for  the  wondrous 
marble  by  the  genius  of  some  sculptor.  Beauty 
came  out  of  the  stone,  and  all  felt  that  a  beauti- 
ful mind  must  have  wrought  it  in.  Similarly, 
under  the  microscope  the  polished  point  of  a 
needle  shows  rough  and  jagged,  while  the  sting 
of  a  wasp  has  no  flaw  in  its  fine  finish.  More 
wonderful  still  is  the  honey-bee,  with  brain  less 
than  a  pinhead,  yet  performing  twenty  difficult 
mental  feats.  We  are  told  that  on  very  warm 
days,  when  the  sweet  comb  is  endangered 


From  Scepticism  to  Faith  275 

through  heat,  the  bees  divide  up  in  companies ; 
they  glue  their  feet  in  the  passage-way  and  re- 
volve there  with  great  velocity,  sending  cool 
currents  of  air  through  the  honeycomb. 

Now,  no  clod  holds  anything  that  can  account 
for  such  wondrous  skill.  To-day  science  reduces 
tree,  bird,  beast,  and  man  to  a  cell,  and  reduces 
all  cells  to  atoms,  which  are  precisely  similar. 
Some  would  fain  have  us  accept  the  atom  as  the 
world  architect.  We  are  told  that  each  atom 
has  a  diameter  of  one  five-hundred-millionth  of 
an  inch.  Yet  when  this  wonder-working  atom 
waves  its  wand,  behold  continents,  seas,  plants, 
animals,  man !  How  does  this  put  to  shame  the 
enchanted  sleeve  of  Aladdin,  out  of  which,  when 
shaken,  fell  everything  one  wished ! 

"  The  Arabian  Nights  "  amused  our  childhood 
with  the  tale  of  a  magician.  Placing  a  jug  upon 
a  table,  he  filled  it  with  water  and  dropped  in  a 
seed.  Then,  at  his  command,  through  the  mouth 
of  the  jug  appeared  a  plant.  The  plant  thrust 
out  boughs.  The  boughs  blossomed  and  bore 
fruit.  The  fruit  ripened  and  fell  at  the  feet  of 
the  astonished  spectators.  But  the  magician, 
with  his  wand,  his  seed,  and  his  jug,  becomes 
as  nothing  when  we  think  of  a  tiny  atom  that, 
without  the  help  of  a  necromancer,  can  build 


276  The  Swing  of  the  Pendulum 

not  simply  trees,  but  create  and  beautify  a  world. 
To-day  thinking  men  laugh  out  of  court  the 
theory  of  "fortuitous  concourse."  That  is  a 
poor  science  that  explains  the  "  Iliad "  by  sup- 
posing a  printing-press  falling  through  the  gar- 
ret of  a  high  building  and  "  pieing "  into  the 
story  of  Troy.  And  if  there  were  millions  of 
stories  through  which  the  press  could  fall,  how 
can  that  increase  the  probabilities  of  type  com- 
ing together  in  a  cellar  so  as  to  make  the  won- 
drous poem  ?  What  the  scholar  asks  for  in 
explaining  the  "Iliad"  is  the  genius  of  Homer. 
What  men  ask  to  explain  our  world  is  not  atoms 
and  millions  of  ages,  but  a  Supreme  Mind. 

Wise  men  are  no  longer  disturbed  by  the 
assaults  made  upon  Christian  faith.  For  all 
young  men  the  time  has  fully  come  to  join  that 
noble  company  of  poets  and  seers  and  scientists 
who  are  willing  to  wander  forward  upon  an  infi- 
nite shore.  All  should  imitate  the  great,  and 
wave  the  torch  until  the  Sun  doth  rise.  All 
about  lies  the  divine  truth,  like  an  invisible  con- 
tinent. It  sparkles  with  beauty,  and  waits  to  be 
discovered,  as  this  continent  waited  for  Colum- 
bus. Read  widely  and  deeply,  and  in  every 
realm.  Each  new  fact  will  be  another  round  in 
a  ladder  rising  heavenward.  For  the  eye  is  not 


From  Scepticism  to  Faith  277 

more  surely  adapted  to  the  light,  the  ear  attuned 
to  melody,  the  heart  fitted  for  friendship,  than  is 
reason  keyed  to  God's  truth.  Happily  our  gen- 
eration has  faljen  upon  an  age  when  a  thousand 
errors  are  being  swept  away  from  truth  so  long 
be-rubbished.  Reverently,  sincerely,  accept  these 
new,  glorious,  and  glowing  facts.  In  all  men's 
study  there  is  one  who  will  guide  him — the  di- 
vine teacher  Jesus  Christ.  It  would  be  strange 
indeed  for  a  man  to  spend  his  winters  in  a  tent 
were  he  to  fall  heir  to  some  castle  or  country 
seat.  It  would  be  strange  indeed  for  you  to 
company  with  serfs  or  slaves  when  some  Tenny- 
son or  Emerson  oft  made  overtures  of  friend- 
ship. 

Ours  is  a  world  in  which  the  unseen  is  re- 
vealed through  incarnation.  The  storms  incar- 
nate the  strength  of  God's  arm.  The  harvests 
incarnate  His  thoughts  of  bounty.  The  landscapes 
incarnate  God's  beauty ;  and  friendships,  God's 
affection.  Thus,  also,  Jesus  Christ  incarnates 
God's  mind  and  heart.  This  wondrous  being  is 
a  fact  in  nature  as  real  as  any  mountain  or  star. 
To  each  He  comes  with  overtures  of  friendship. 
To  each  He  whispers,  "  The  world  is  your 
Father's  house,  the  morning  is  His  smile,  the 
darkness  His  curtains,  the  clouds  His  chariots." 


278  The  Swing  of  the  Pendulum 

He  bids  us  journey  forth  with  song,  for  God  is 
in  all  the  perfumed  air;  with  confidence,  for  as 
the  planet  sweeps  the  body  forward,  a  divine 
purpose  sweeps  the  soul  upward;  with  penitence, 
for  He  who  sympathizes  will  also  pardon  and  for- 
give ;  with  aspiration,  for  He  who  owns  a  million 
worlds  will  surely  provide  one  for  him  who  now 
seems  a  "  god  in  exile "  ;  with  hope,  for  when 
the  body  falls  into  the  grave,  the  soul  is  caught 
up  by  arms  invisible,  indeed,  but  infinite. 


XII 

Cfjrtet's  delation  to  tjje  Poet,  tije  f  fjtiosopfjer, 
tjje  Scientist,  anti  t|je 


"Ay,  to  save  and  redeem  and  restore  him,  maintain  at  the 

height 

This  perfection,  —  succeed  with  life's  dayspring,  death's  min- 
ute of  night  ? 

Interpose  at  the  difficult  minute,  snatch  Saul  the  mistake, 
Saul  the  failure,  the  ruin  he  seems  now,  —  and  bid  him  awake 
From  the  dream,  the  probation,  the  prelude,  to  find  himself 

set 

Clear  and  safe  in  new  light  and  new  life,  —  a  new  harmony  yet 
To  be  run,  and   continued,  and  ended  —  who  knows?  —  or 

endure ! 
The  man  taught  enough,  by  life's  dream,  of  the  rest  to  make 

sure; 

By  the  pain-throb,  triumphantly  winning  intensified  bliss, 
And  the  next  world's  reward  and  repose,  by  the  struggles  in 

this. 

iii******* 
So  shall  crown  thee  the  topmost,  ineffablest,  uttermost  crown  — 
And  thy  love  fill  infinitude  wholly,  nor  leave  up  nor  down 
One  spot  for  the  creature  to  stand  in  !     It  is  by  no  breath, 
Turn  of  eye,  wave  of  hand,  that  salvation  joins  issue  with 

death  ! 

As  thy  love  is  discovered  almighty,  almighty  be  proved 
Thy  power,  that  exists  with  and  for  it,  of  being  Beloved ! 
He  who  did  most,  shall  bear  most ;  the  strongest  shall  stand 

the  most  weak. 
'Tis  the  weakness  in  strength,  that  I  cry  for  !  my  flesh,  that  I 

seek 

In  the  Godhead  !     I  seek  and  I  find  it.     O  Saul,  it  shall  be 
A  Face  like  my  face  that  receives  thee ;  a  Man  like  to  me, 
Thou  shalt  love  and  be  loved  by,  for  ever ;  a  Hand  like  this 

hand 
Shall  throw  open  the  gates  of  new  life  to  thee  !     See  the 

Christ  stand!" 

—  BROWNING'S  "  Saul." 


280 


XII 

CHRIST'S    RELATION  TO  THE   POET,   THE    PHILOSO- 
PHER, THE  SCIENTIST,  AND  THE  SEER 

Christ's  use  of  parables  and  pictures.  Arguments  are 
carpentered  together.  Emblems  are  created.  The  great 
teachers  have  their  supremacy  through  word  pictures.  The 
parables  of  Homer  and  Dante  and  the  parables  of  Christ. 
Social  progress  and  word  pictures.  The  philosophy  of  the 
parable.  The  biographies  of  words.  The  Mosaic  economy  a 
system  of  symbols  and  pictures.  Nature  as  an  alphabet  for 
spelling  out  the  infinite  God.  Christ's  use  of  the  "  way," 
and  the  Roman  road  as  an  interpretation  of  divine  nature  and 
government.  "The  way"  as  a  symbol  of  civilization  and 
commerce.  "  The  way  "  as  a  symbol  of  friendship.  "  The 
way  "  as  a  symbol  of  memory  and  association.  Christ's  ap- 
peal to  the  reason.  Christ  and  the  scientists  of  our  age. 
Collapse  of  materialism.  The  attractiveness  of  Christ  to 
the  common  people.  His  appeal  to  the  poets  and  artists. 
Christ's  revelation  of  immortality. 


/nP*HE    supremacy   of    Christ    among    men   of 

*-     genius  is  strikingly  illustrated  by   His  use 

of  parables  and  pictures.     Nothing  taxes  the  in- 

tellect like  the  construction  of  emblems  and  sym* 

bols  that  make  great  principles  plain  and  simple. 

Mediocre   minds  can  fashion  arguments  and  car- 

281 


282  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

penter  together  systems  of  philosophy,  but  once 
the  scientist  has  discovered  the  world-wide  princi- 
ple, the  problem  remains  how  to  make  this  truth 
clear  to  the  unthinking  multitudes.  Then,  in  the 
interest  of  simplicity,  the  great  man  goes  up  and 
down  the  world  seeking  for  some  parable  that  will 
condense  his  principle  into  a  single  picture.  And 
as  men  move  toward  greatness  they  go  toward 
skill  in  this  divine  art  of  illustration.  In  the 
realm  of  intellect  there  are  five  sons  of  supreme 
genius  —  Moses,  Paul,  Homer,  Dante,  Shake- 
speare. But  every  one  of  these  great  men  has  his 
supremacy  through  the  word  pictures  that  imagi- 
nation paints.  Would  Moses,  the  sage,  portray 
man's  tragic  career?  He  condenses  a  thousand 
pages  into  a  few  pictures  ;  man's  life  is  a  tale  that 
is  told ;  it  is  an  arrow's  flight,  a  mountain  flood, 
the  grass  that  withers,  the  night  watch  of  an  army 
out  on  the  march.  Would  Paul,  the  seer,  set  forth 
the  limitations  of  the  human  intellect  ?  Since  the 
windows  of  that  far-off  time  were  made  of  horn 
scraped  thin,  through  which  objects  in  the  street 
seemed  blurred,  Paul  said,  "Man  sees  through  a 
glass  darkly,"  and  for  centuries  that  picture  has 
portrayed  the  concealments  of  nature  and  of  God. 
Homer,  too,  is  a  supreme  master  in  this  divine  art 
of  illustration.  When  the  voice  of  Agamemnon 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    283 

aroused  his  soldiers  to  their  danger,  the  blind 
poet  makes  the  Greeks  rush  from  their  tents  like 
"honey-bees  from  a  hive  upon  which  a  club  has 
fallen." 

Dante,  too,  deals  in  emblems  and  pictures.  De- 
scribing Beatrice's  influence  upon  his  career,  the 
poet  said  her  fine  spirit  was  to  his  "intellect  a 
light,  to  his  affections  a  loadstone,  and  a  sceptre  to 
his  will."  All  the  great  passages  of  Shakespeare 
are  emblems  rather  than  arguments.  Mediocre 
minds  would  have  given  pages  to  the  remorse  of 
Macbeth,  but  Shakespeare  paints  a  picture.  He 
puts  one  drop  of  blood  upon  the  hand,  and  then 
says,  "All  the  perfumes  of  Arabia  would  not 
sweeten  that  little  hand,  but  the  one  red  drop  the 
multitudinous  seas  it  would  incarnadine,  making 
the  green  one  red."  Among  men  of  lesser  genius, 
also,  skill  in  illustration  proclaims  supremacy. 
Years  ago,  reading  one  of  Lowell's  first  essays, 
an  English  critic  found  the  note  of  distinction 
upon  the  pages.  What  was  this  note  ?  Writing 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Cologne,  Lowell  had  described 
its  stone  arches  as  "soaring  heavenward,  like 
martyr  flames  suddenly  turned  to  stone."  In  the 
realm  of  oratory,  also,  skill  in  the  use  of  pictures 
is  the  final  test.  The  history  of  American  elo- 
quence holds  three  supreme  scenes  —  Patrick 


284  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

Henry  at  Williamsburg,  Wendell  Phillips  at  Fan- 
euil  Hall,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  at  Gettysburg. 

But  each  of  these  orations  is  simply  a  mass 
of  word  pictures,  just  as  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  that  can  be  read  in  ten  minutes,  is  a  glow- 
ing canvas  holding  sixty  different  emblems  and 
symbols.  For  the  essence  of  a  thousand  systems 
of  theology  are  condensed  into  a  single  picture 
by  Christ :  "  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world ;  ye 
are  cities  set  upon  hilltops."  The  theologian  re- 
quires scores  of  volumes  for  outlining  his  system 
of  divinity.  Augustine's  works  are  in  thirty  vol- 
umes. Calvin's  require  forty  volumes.  The  first 
theological  work  published  in  this  country  has 
these  words  on  the  title-page,  "  A  complete  body 
of  divinity,  in  two  hundred  and  fifty  lectures  upon 
the  Assemblies'  Shorter  Catechism."  But  all 
these  theological  systems  may  be  reduced  to 
Christ's  one  parable  of  the  prodigal  son,  just  as 
ten  thousand  sunbeams  are  condensed  in  one 
shining  drop  named  the  diamond.  The  chemist 
assembles  the  sweetness  of  an  acre  of  crimson  blos- 
soms into  a  small  vial  of  attar  of  roses,  and  Christ 
condenses  innumerable  theological  systems  into  a 
few  parables  and  pictures.  For  that  which  great 
men  have  in  rude  and  clumsy  form,  was  Christ's 
native  gift.  Literary  artists  there  are,  who  have 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    285 

known  something  of  the  art  of  parables  and  pic- 
tures. But  in  this  realm  Christ  dwells  apart  in 
His  unrivalled  genius.  He  is  a  solitary  palm  tree 
waving  in  a  desert  of  mediocrity. 

Not  without  reason  have  poets,  orators,  and 
artists  passed  by  elaborate  arguments  and  pro- 
found analyses  to  use  instead  symbols  and  em- 
blems. The  philosophy  of  the  parable  is  very 
simple.  Of  the  forty  faculties  of  the  soul,  the 
reason  is  the  lowest.  Reason  is  a  bond-slave. 
Imagination  is  the  king  sitting  on  the  throne  and 
wielding  the  sceptre.  Reason  collects  facts,  im- 
agination constructs  these  facts  into  new  art  prod- 
ucts. Hugh  Miller's  reason  collects  the  facts  as 
to  rocks ;  his  constructive  imagination  organizes 
them  into  a  system  of  geology.  Newton's  reason 
collects  facts  of  stars  and  suns ;  his  imagination 
organizes  these  facts  into  a  system  of  astronomy. 
Watt's  reason  assembles  the  iron  and  steel ;  his 
imagination  transforms  them  into  the  engines, 
the  locomotives.  The  reason  of  Edmund  Burke 
collects  the  facts  regarding  India ;  his  imagi- 
nation organizes  these  facts  into  a  great  ora- 
tion. Reason  collects  sounds  ;  imagination  turns 
them  into  symphonies.  Reason  collects  ideas  of 
right  and  wrong ;  imagination  turns  them  into 
ethical  systems.  At  best  reason  is  an  under-ser- 


286  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

vant.      Slowly    and    with    infinite    pains    reason 
works  out  its  premises  and  conclusions. 

Hobbling  forward  upon  the  crutches  of  logic, 
reason  arrives  at  the  truth.  But  where  reason 
halts,  there  the  imagination  begins  anew  and  rushes 
on  to  search  out  some  parable  or  picture  that  will 
flame  the  new  truth  forth  upon  the  common  peo- 
ple. For  the  multitude  it  is  hard  to  remember  an 
argument,  but  easy  to  recall  a  parable  or  a  picture. 
By  long  and  difficult  process  of  observation  philos- 
ophers discovered  that  theft,  lying,  gluttony,  and 
sin  of  every  kind  were  injurious  to  man's  mind 
and  body.  Rising  up  early  and  sitting  up  late,  the 
philosophers  taught  the  people  that  the  sins  of  to- 
day would  reach  forward  and  curse  men  to-mor- 
row. Yet  children  and  youth  soon  forget  the 
arguments  as  to  the  law  of  the  spiritual  harvest. 
That  the  common  people  might  remember  the 
peril  of  disobedience,  Christ  painted  a  picture  for 
them  :  "  If  any  man  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine 
and  doeth  them  not,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a 
foolish  man  who  built  his  house  upon  the  sand. 
And  the  rains  descended  and  the  floods  came  and 
the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house,  and  it 
fell  and  great  was  the  fall  of  it."  With  arguments 
innumerable  philosophers  had  taught  the  people 
that  sin  was  destruction,  and  lo  !  their  arguments 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  tbe  Seer    287 

have  gone  to  dust  and  oblivion.  Christ  painted  a 
picture  of  sin  as  peril,  and  lo !  his  picture  is 
immortal. 

It  stirs  the  sense  of  wonder  that  those  teachers 
who  have  used  illustrations  so  simple  that  a  child 
can  understand  them  have  never  been  recognized 
as  profound  thinkers.  Yet  theirs  is  the  art  that 
conceals  art.  Contrariwise,  writers  who  repre- 
sent the  rudest  stages  of  thinking,  and  who  must 
needs  carpenter  together  arguments,  often  win 
great  repute  as  men  of  profound  intellect.  But 
arguments  are  only  the  raw  materials  of  thought, 
the  lowest  form  of  thinking,  while  the  parable 
and  picture  represent  the  art  products  of  the 
creative  imagination !  Parables  simple  ?  There 
is  a  simplicity  that  publishes  greatness  !  Argu- 
ments profound  ?  There  is  a  profundity  that 
publishes  shallowness !  Our  northern  lakes  are 
so  clear  and  pure  that  a  pebble  is  seen  at  the 
bottom  of  a  pool  ten  feet  deep.  Hard  by,  per- 
chance, is  some  shallow  mud  pond.  Going  along 
the  road  the  passer-by  startles  a  frog  that  leaps 
into  the  pool.  Striking  the  mud  a  few  inches 
under  the  surface,  the  swimmer  disappears.  In 
its  ignorance  the  child  thinks  the  pond  to  be 
very  deep.  It  is  not  depth  but  dirt  that  con- 
ceals the  frog.  In  the  deep,  pure  lake  it  is  not 


288  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

shallowness  but  clarity  that  reveals  the  pebble 
lying  at  the  bottom  of  the  deep  pool.  Many  a 
philosopher  has  gained  reputation  for  profound 
thinking  by  a  dexterous  use  of  big  words  and 
long  theological  terms,  supplemented  by  a  large, 
gold-headed  cane.  But  let  no  man  think  that, 
because  Christ  deals  in  illustrations  that  a  child 
can  understand  intellectually,  He  is  not  supreme 
over  all  the  scholars  and  philosophers. 

Now  the  use  of  mnemonics  and  word  pictures 
have  their  justification  in  the  fact  that  all  insti- 
tutions, political,  social,  and  religious,  rest  back 
upon  figurative  teaching.  Slowly  and  with  infi- 
nite difficulty  man  moves  from  the  known  to 
the  unknown.  Did  society  but  know  it,  every 
word  man  uses  is  condensed  history  and  poetry, 
just  as  a  lump  of  coal  is  a  mass  of  buds  and 
perfumed  boughs  condensed  into  a  flake  of  car- 
bon. Often  a  single  word  is  a  parable  and  pic- 
ture. Once  the  charioteer  used  a  whip  so  cruel 
it  took  away  the  horses'  "  sarx  "  or  flesh.  Then, 
when  a  man  made  a  scourge  of  his  tongue  and 
cut  a  deep  gash  in  the  heart  of  his  friend, 
men  called  that  speech  "sarcasm."  Once  lying 
architects  concealed  the  crack  in  the  marble 
columns  with  wax.  When  several  summers  and 
winters  had  passed,  under  the  stress  of  heat  and 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    289 

cold,  the  wax  peeled  off;  soon  all  contracts  made 
in  Rome  contained  the  words,  "  sine  cera  "  (with- 
out wax),  and  society  gained  the  new  word  "  sin- 
cere." Foolish  stories  are  called  "  trivial."  In 
Virgil's  day  a  peasant  built  an  inn  at  the  place 
where  three  roads,  "  tres  vise,"  met.  Lingering 
in  the  little  inn,  the  soldier  drank  much  sour 
wine  and  told  foolish  stories.  Soon  man  spake 
of  "trivial"  stories,  i.e.  stories  told  at  the  inn 
where  "  tres  viae  "  met.  Thus  each  new  word 
is  a  canvas  into  which  are  swept  a  thousand 
social  experiences. 

But  if  the  picture-making  faculty  gave  man  his 
language,  this  faculty  also  gave  society  its  law 
and  jurisprudence  and  religion.  In  the  last 
analysis  the  old  Mosaic  economy  is  simply  a 
system  of  symbols  and  pictures.  In  that  rude 
age,  Moses,  leading  the  multitude  into  the 
wilderness,  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
horde  of  slaves  and  savages.  It  was  useless  to 
tell  men  it  was  wrong  to  kill,  steal,  and  lie, 
for  men  knew  not  what  right  and  wrong  were. 
Therefore,  it  became  necessary  to  develop  a 
series  of  symbols  and  parabolic  ceremonies  that 
would  illustrate  the  nature  of  sin  and  wrong- 
doing. Beginning  with  the  rudiments,  Moses 
built  a  temple  with  an  outer  court  and  an  inner 
u 


290  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

sanctuary.  Beyond  was  a  holy  place,  and  far 
within  a  "  most  holy  place,"  into  which  only  the 
high  priest  could  enter  once  a  year.  Did  some 
rude  man  break  the  law  of  truth  or  purity  or 
honesty  ?  He  was  made  to  stand  in  the  outer 
court,  sin  having  separated  him  from  the  God 
of  Righteousness.  Did  some  man  repent  of  his 
theft  or  falsehood  ?  A  handful  of  perfumed 
shrubs  was  burned  upon  an  altar,  and  as  the 
smoke  ascended  into  the  clouds,  the  rude  man's 
prayer  and  aspiration  rose  with  the  incense  toward 
the  unseen  God.  Later,  because  men  had  no 
sense  of  the  solidarity  of  society,  other  sacrifices 
were  used  as  illustrations.  Some  brutal  father 
through  his  passion  involved  his  innocent  babe 
in  suffering.  That  he  might  understand  how 
his  act  brought  injury  upon  others,  a  dove  was 
brought  in  and  offered  for  his  sin  as  a  symbol 
of  how  the  innocent  child  was  involved  in  his 
transgression.  Slowly,  through  solemn  and  elabo- 
rate ceremonies,  the  sense  of  right-doing  and  of 
wrong-doing  was  developed,  until  men  came  to 
see  that  obedience  to  law  was  the  only  road  to 
liberty ;  that  disobedience  separated  men  from 
happiness  and  prosperity,  from  conscience  and 
from  God.  The  Mosaic  economy,  with  its  altars, 
sacrifices,  temples,  is  the  most  highly  developed 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    291 

system  of  mnemonics  for  the  development  of 
moral  and  ethical  ideas  that  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  Moses,  its  inventor,  was  a  mountain- 
peaked  man  of  mentality  all  compact.  Because 
every  legal  code  and  constitution  to-day  simply 
repeats  his  principles  and  Ten  Commandments, 
men  like  Goethe  and  Guizot  count  Moses  the 
greatest  intellect  our  world  has  ever  known. 

Later,  as  society  advanced,  a  thousand  new 
illustrations  of  the  nature  of  God  were  devel- 
oped. The  external  world  with  all  objects  of 
use  and  beauty  in  land  and  sea  and  sky  were 
pressed  into  service,  and  became  symbols  for 
setting  forth  this  invisible  One.  From  sacrifices 
the  Hebrew  seers  passed  to  natural  objects.  The 
sun  was  the  shining  of  God's  eye.  The  rain  was 
the  falling  of  His  mercy.  The  stroke  of  the 
earthquake  was  the  stroke  of  His  arm.  The 
white  clouds  in  the  sky  were  the  dust  rising  up 
as  His  chariot  rolled  along  the  heavenly  high- 
way. The  mountains  became  altars,  the  cattle 
upon  a  thousand  hills  were  sacrifices,  the  golden 
clouds  that  covered  the  tops  of  the  mountains 
became  incense  rising  heavenward  toward  the 
Unseen  Being. 

As  civilization  waxed  more  and  more,  all  objects 
making  for  admiration  and  delight  were  brought 


292  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

in  for  interpreting  the  divine  nature.  Was  there 
a  ruler  who  stood  for  wisdom,  power,  and  justice? 
Then  God  became  a  king  or  prince.  Did  men 
build  fortresses  against  their  enemies  ?  Then  God 
became  a  strong  power,  a  refuge  for  the  poor  and 
weak.  In  that  hot  climate,  where  the  sun  shone 
with  a  deadly  heat  and  men  feared  the  stroke 
of  the  sunbeam,  God  became  the  "  shadow  of 
a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land."  As  social  insti- 
tutions grew  strong  and  rich,  in  a  world  where 
friend  loved  friend,  God  was  one  whose  love  sur- 
passed that  of  a  brother,  and  He  became  teacher, 
counsellor,  consoler,  and  friend.  Man's  alphabet 
holds  only  twenty-six  letters ;  yet  with  this  little 
alphabet  he  writes  the  full  story  of  his  arts,  his 
sciences  and  religion.  But  the  word  "  God  "  in- 
cludes infinite  treasures  of  mind  and  heart ;  such 
volume  of  supreme  excellence  that  all  things  use- 
ful or  beautiful  in  land,  sea,  and  sky,  all  names 
or  experiences  in  home  or  government  or  art  or 
science,  became  letters  in  a  divine  alphabet  to 
spell  out  the  infinite  God,  who,  being  known, 
is  still  unknown,  whose  throne  must  ever  be 
wrapped  about  "with  clouds  and  darkness." 

Perchance  this  survey  of  the  nature,  function, 
and  moral  uses  of  parables  and  illustrations  will 
help  interpret  the  imaginative  uses  of  Christ's 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    293 

likening  Himself  to  a  "way"  and  a  "road."  The 
highest  reason  is  at  once  stimulated  and  satisfied 
when  this  divine  teacher  likens  Himself  unto  the 
"sun,"  and  "vine,"  the  "light,"  the  "life,"  the 
"truth."  But  since  no  object  is  more  homely 
than  a  "road"  over  which  pass  the  weary  multi- 
tudes, with  all  herds  and  flocks  and  caravans,  it 
stirs  our  sense  of  wonder  that  Christ  should  have 
likened  Himself  unto  the  "way"  that  leads  into 
some  imperial  city.  Yet  the  events  of  that  far-off 
Roman  era  lent  to  the  road  a  world-wide  signifi- 
cance, and  made  the  way  one  of  the  richest  of 
Christ's  symbols.  At  best  it  was  a  rude,  wild  age. 
Society  was  chaotic  and  unorganized.  For  reasons 
of  safety  men  dwelt  in  walled  towns  and  cities. 
There  were  brigands  in  the  mountains  and  wolves 
in  the  hills.  For  a  merchant  the  journey  from 
one  town  to  another  was  accompanied  with  great 
danger.  To-day  the  Kurds  of  Persia  sweep  down 
from  their  mountain  fastnesses  into  Armenian 
villages,  burning  houses,  looting  the  shops,  killing 
the  men,  and  carrying  off  the  women  and  children. 
Not  otherwise  in  that  era  property  was  insecure. 
When  the  night  fell  the  keepers  hurried  their 
flocks  toward  the  gates  of  the  villages,  and 
the  caravans  made  haste  to  find  safety  within 
the  walls  of  some  town.  In  such  an  age  Julius 


294  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

Caesar  conceived  the  idea  of  binding  all  the  prov- 
inces together  by  a  system  of  roads.  With  the 
instinct  of  a  statesman  he  set  his  soldiers  to  con- 
struct a  highway  through  what  we  call  France, 
on  into  Italy,  toward  the  capital.  After  nineteen 
centuries  sections  of  this  road  still  remain,  a 
splendid  highway  sixty  feet  wide,  made  of  pounded 
rock  covered  with  cement,  and  guarded  on  either 
side  by  huge  blocks  of  stone.  Every  twelve  miles 
there  were  relays,  with  soldiers  and  an  inn,  where 
merchants  and  travellers  found  refreshment  and 
protection.  Most  famous  of  all  these  roads  was 
the  Appian  Way.  Along  that  historic  highway 
moved  emperors,  with  their  triumphal  processions  ; 
Alexandrian  merchants,  with  their  wheat,  oil,  and 
wine ;  travellers  from  the  Orient,  who  brought 
silken  stuffs,  with  spices  and  myrrh ;  merchants 
from  Africa,  with  ivory,  precious  stones,  and 
bars  of  gold.  And  through  this  way  and  road 
uniting  towns  and  cities,  levelling  valleys,  and  mak- 
ing mountains  low,  peace  followed  tumult,  and 
danger  gave  way  to  security.  Soon  the  road  came 
to  stand  for  safety,  peace,  and  permanency.  By 
reason  of  the  associations  with  law,  government, 
and  justice,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  any  other 
term  could  have  carried  more  meaning  to  men 
than  the  expression,  "I  am  the  way." 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    295 

In  that  far-off  era  also,  "the  way  "  was  a  symbol 
of  friendship  and  of  the  heart's  deepest  affections. 
It  was  a  pastoral  age.  The  leaders  of  the  time 
were  sheiks  whose  tents  followed  their  flocks  and 
herds  as  they  wandered  o'er  the  hills.  Beautiful, 
indeed,  the  picture  of  those  old-time  friendships 
between  sages  who  were  called  the  "friends  of 
God."  In  that  era  Abraham  led  his  flocks  into 
one  rich  valley,  and  there  set  up  his  tents  and 
reared  his  home.  Beyond  the  range  of  high  hills 
was  a  second  rich  valley,  where  another  sheik 
fed  his  flocks.  Separated  by  the  low  mountains, 
these  men  were  united  by  friendship.  For  if  the 
birds  must  go  in  flocks,  the  fishes  in  shoals,  and 
the  cattle  in  herds,  men  are  drawn  together  by  a 
hunger  for  companionship.  Soon  these  two  men 
bade  their  servants  make  a  path  up  the  steep  sides 
of  this  range  and  down  into  the  valley  beyond. 
Oft  fleet  runners,  bearing  now  a  bough  of  fruit 
and  now  a  measure  of  fine  wheat,  hurried  along 
this  path. 

Full  oft  swift  runners  were  sent  out  to  give 
warning  of  approaching  danger.  At  intervals, 
also,  there  came  family  festivals,  when  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  one  house,  made  the\j  way 
along  this  walk  for  a  week's  visit  to  the  other. 
Worn  by  many  feet,  this  "way"  became  sacred 


296  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

by  association.  At  last  the  time  came  when  the 
two  sheiks  built  a  booth  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  and 
oft  meeting  there,  struck  hands  of  friendship. 
Sacred,  indeed,  the  spot  where  one  great  mind 
carrying  its  undisclosed  life  of  meditation  meets 
another  great  mind  and  heart.  Recalling  that 
spot  in  the  street  where  he  met  his  friend,  Schiller 
thought  of  building  a  memorial  of  the  meeting. 
And  meeting  in  the  path  upon  the  summit  of  the 
hill  from  which  they  looked  down  upon  their  dis- 
tant homes  in  confidence  and  undisturbed  by  fear, 
they  spoke  of  the  deep  things  of  life  and  love  and 
God,  moving  "over  realms  and  royalties  of  medita- 
tion where  each  had  so  often  passed,  a  solitary 
traveller."  In  such  an  age  this  path,  uniting 
homes,  and  baptized  by  friendships,  and  sacred  by 
a  thousand  associations,  lends  a  strange  interpreta- 
tion to  these  words,  "  I  am  the  way." 

To  these  associations  of  government,  law,  and 
common  life,  the  home  and  the  domestic  affec- 
tions lent  their  associations  to  "the  way."  Our 
western  peoples  dwell  in  cities.  With  us  gardens 
are  almost  unknown.  Homes  are  literally  upon 
the  street.  But  travellers  to  Oriental  cities 
know  that  every  home  is  set  far  back  from  the 
streets,  and  the  pathway  from  the  gate  to  the 
door  is  one  which  the  householder  makes  strangely 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    297 

beautiful  by  fragrant  shrubs  and  climbing  vines, 
with  palms  and  oleanders.  In  the  description  of 
this  house  of  Ben  Hur,  what  a  pathway  of  beauty 
and  delight  was  "  the  way  "  leading  to  that  house 
hidden  midst  the  trees.  In  that  soft  genial  cli- 
mate, how  beautiful  the  custom  of  serving  the 
evening  meal  on  the  table  set  in  that  embowered 
pathway.  What  fascination  attached  to  the  con- 
versation when  the  neighbors  dropped  in  for  con- 
verse during  the  long  twilight!  What  converse 
between  men  grown  old  and  infirm  with  life's 
battles!  What  a  paradise  for  children  loving 
games  and  sports !  And  when  neighbors  had 
gone  what  young  stranger  is  this  who  lingers  with 
the  daughter  of  the  home  ?  Along  that  way,  after 
the  day's  work  was  done,  moved  the  father,  jour- 
neying homeward.  At  the  end  of  that  way,  also, 
the  mother  parted  with  the  boy,  who,  going  forth 
to  make  his  fortune,  has  never  returned.  Happi- 
ness will  never  be  hers  until  again  she  beholds 
his  form  returning  along  that  familiar  path. 

Sometimes  in  pensive  hours  the  householder 
walks  in  the  gray  dusk  up  and  down  that  way, 
reflecting  that  soon  he  will  be  carried  along  that 
path  to  find  himself  in  another  "way"  from  which 
no  traveller  ever  returns.  And  so,  through  a 
thousand  beautiful  associations  "the  way"  and 


298  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

the  road  took  on  rich  meaning  and  significance. 
It  stood  for  safety  of  life  and  property,  for  peace 
and  tranquillity.  It  stood  for  commerce,  trade, 
and  wealth.  It  stood  for  friendship  and  affec- 
tion and  for  the  rich  associations  of  the  heart. 
And  when  Christ  called  Himself  "the  way,"  it 
seemed  to  weary  men  as  if  no  other  symbol  was  so 
rich,  so  full  of  hidden  suggestion,  not  one  that 
was  clothed  with  such  sweetness  and  beauty ;  not 
one  that  was  so  deep  and  serviceable.  To  the 
multitudes  lost  in  the  wilderness,  Christ  became 
the  way  home ;  a  highway  for  those  who  are  light 
of  foot  and  those  whose  feet  are  heavy  with  mis- 
fortune ;  a  "  way  "  for  the  children  of  prosperity 
who  sweep  forward  in  chariots,  and  also  for  the 
poor  who  move  forward  with  fettered  feet ;  for 
all  men,  high  and  low,  bond  and  free,  He  was  the 
divine  "way,"  leading  unto  the  eternal  city  of 
God. 

For  the  philosophers  representing  the  intellect, 
Christ  is  the  way  to  God.  Glorious,  indeed,  the 
company  of  the  scholars  who  have  sought  the 
Unseen  One.  Yet  after  a  lifetime  of  investiga- 
tion the  sages  have  one  cry,  "O  that  I  knew 
where  I  might  find  Him."  From  Job  to  Herbert 
Spencer  God  has  been  the  Undiscovered  One. 
How  pathetic  Job's  words ;  God's  footprints  are 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    299 

not  in  the  rock,  made  permanent  for  students ; 
His  footprints  are  not  in  the  snow,  quickly  melt- 
ing in  the  sun ;  "  Thy  footsteps  are  in  the 
sea  where  waves  wipe  the  footprints  out."  So 
far  from  knowing  the  way  to  God's  throne, 
the  philosophers  have  not  even  been  sure  of 
His  name.  For  Huxley  He  is  the  Unknown 
God ;  for  Spencer  He  is  the  Unknowable  One ; 
for  the  positivist  He  is  the  Stream  of  Tendency ; 
for  Arnold  He  is  the  Power  that  makes  for 
righteousness.  But  with  Martineau  let  us  con- 
fess that  these  are  poor  substitutes  for  God, 
man's  Father.  In  its  Gethsemane  hour  the 
soul  does  not  pray,  "  O  Stream  of  Tendency, 
let  this  cup  pass  from  me!"  In  the  hour  when 
fame  is  a  vapor,  when  riches  take  wings,  and 
strength  fails,  men  will  not  ask  "the  Unknowable 
One  "  to  support  their  sufferings.  In  the  hour  of 
death  the  philosopher  asks  us  to  spell  the  word 
"force"  with  a  capital  "  F,"  but  not  even  the  font 
of  large  type  can  support  the  hero  and  martyr. 
Matthew  Arnold  defined  religion  as  "  ethics  suf- 
fused with  emotion,"  but  mist  though  suf- 
fused with  moonshine  makes  a  poor  substitute  for 
wheaten  bread.  Viewed  as  rhetoric,  this  rose- 
ated  ethics  is  a  highly  successful  phrase.  Viewed 
as  a  substitute  for  Christianity,  it  asks  man  to 


300  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

substitute  bread  for  a  chunk  of  cloud-bank  but- 
tered with  the  night  wind. 

Sad,  indeed,  the  confessions  of  the  philoso- 
phers. "The  great  companion  is  dead,"  sobs 
Professor  Clifford.  "  My  everlasting  winter  has 
set  in,"  moans  Harriet  Martineau.  Herbert 
Spencer  is  very  sad.  How  pathetic  the  introduc- 
tion of  his  last  book  !  Therein  he  doubts  whether 
anything  he  has  ever  written  has  served  any  man. 
Yet  this  philosopher  represents  a  great  intellect, 
a  brave  heart,  and  a  noble  life.  Does  this  pathetic 
confession  mean  that  troubles  have  broken  his 
heart  ?  Does  the  world  reel  beneath  his  feet, 
that  he  seems  to  wish  to  lean  against  some 
strong  arm  that  can  hold  all  reeling  worlds  ? 
Have  agnosticism  and  pessimism  gone  into  bank- 
ruptcy and  left  their  creditors  broken-hearted  ? 
We  cannot  praise  the  philosophers  too  highly. 
If  they  have  failed,  they  have  failed  as  heroes 
who  struggled  for  the  impossible.  In  youth  and 
health  men  read  the  philosophers,  but  in  the  hour 
of  sickness,  defeat,  adversity,  and  death  men  send 
these  volumes  to  the  garret  or  cellar.  Morlais 
Jones  tells  of  a  famous  picture  of  logs  blazing 
in  the  fireplace.  One  bleak  January  day  a  pet 
monkey  found  its  way  into  the  room,  and,  see- 
ing the  picture,  ran  up  and  lifted  its  shivering 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    301 

hands  before  the  canvas.  After  a  few  moments 
the  poor  creature  began  to  moan  piteously.  The 
longer  it  waited,  the  colder  the  monkey  became, 
for  the  flames  were  only  painted  fire.  Having 
tried  all  the  philosophies,  Professor  Clifford  moans 
piteously.  It  was  only  painted  fire.  Significant, 
indeed,  Romanes'  return  to  a  simple  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  affirming  that  all  modern  science  and  the 
principle  of  evolution  have  their  culmination  in 
Christ  and  Christianity. 

Now  comes  the  president  of  the  British  Soci- 
ety for  the  Advancement  of  Science  with  a  like 
confession.  For  the  march  of  the  philosophers 
seems  like  the  march  of  the  Ten  Thousand. 
The  brave  Greeks,  after  months  of  wandering 
through  the  enemy's  country,  wounded  by  poi- 
soned arrows,  worn  by  forced  marches,  hunger, 
and  thirst,  tortured  by  cold,  torn  by  thorns  and 
thickets,  at  last  emerged  from  the  forest,  and 
from  the  mountain  tops  saw  afar  off  the  glim- 
merings of  the  sea.  Forgetting  their  rags  and 
misery,  with  shouts  of  rapturous  joy  these 
soldiers  rushed  down  the  hillside,  crying  aloud, 
"The  sea,  the  sea!"  In  their  search  for  the 
clew  of  the  maze  the  great  men  of  earth  have 
wandered  far ;  but  Browning  and  Tennyson,  Ro- 
manes the  scientist,  Lord  Kelvin  the  mathemati- 


302  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

cian,  the  great  statesmen  from  Webster  and 
Lincoln  to  Bismarck  and  Gladstone,  these  are 
leaders  in  a  movement  that  seems  about  to  be- 
come a  contagion,  as  earth's  greatest  spirits  fall 
into  Christ's  triumphal  procession  as  He  leads  on 
toward  God's  throne.  For  Christ  made  the  way 
to  God  plain  and  smooth.  Standing  forth  before 
the  people,  Christ  unveiled  the  Creator  as  a 
Father;  made  His  throne  mercy  and  not  marble; 
made  His  providence  seem  like  the  gulf  stream 
of  history ;  made  His  laws  to  seem  forms  of  love 
filled  with  sweet  solicitude,  rather  than  nets  to 
trap  the  feet  of  the  unwary.  For  the  first  time 
in  history  the  Divine  Being  wao  surrounded  with 
fascination  and  allurement.  If  once  men  had  fled 
from  this  Being,  whose  brow  had  been  wreathed 
with  lightnings  that  consumed  men  out  of  His 
presence,  Christ  made  the  very  name  of  God 
music  and  medicine  and  wings  to  worn  and  weary 
men.  Not  those  love  words  that  mothers  sing 
above  their  cradles  to  children ;  not  those 
songs  with  which  the  lover  wooes  his  bride  ;  not 
those  tokens  of  affection  between  friends,  are  so 
alluring  as  the  names  that  were  associated  with 
the  name  of  God.  The  old  legend  is  that  when 
the  angels  departed  from  the  shepherds  that 
Christmas  night  they  left  a  rosy  hue  in  the 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    303 

atmosphere  ;  thus  the  very  name  of  God  came  to 
lend  a  rosy,  radiant  glow  to  the  mind.  For  the 
sons  of  intellect,  Christ  has,  indeed,  become  "the 
way." 

For  the  common  people,  also,  Christ  has  been 
a  "  way "  out  of  life's  wilderness  ;  for  the  chil- 
dren of  prosperity,  blessed  with  leisure,  luxury, 
friends,  and  travel,  the  life  that  now  is  so  pleasant 
that  they  can  afford  to  trust  to  Providence  who 
hath  appointed  the  present  to  guard  their  future 
career.  But  for  the  millions  who  toil  in  the  field 
and  forest,  in  factory  and  mine,  living  upon  the 
edge  of  want,  the  problems  of  life  are  difficult 
and  dark.  For  the  multitudes  going  through 
life,  hungering  for  knowledge,  but  all  unfed ; 
hungering  for  art  and  beauty  but  doomed  to 
starve ;  hungering  for  position  and  influence,  but 
doomed  to  ignorance  and  obscurity,  life  is  full  of 
care  and  hard  problems.  And  for  these  multi- 
tudes worn  with  trouble,  it  is  not  enough  that 
scholars  say  that  God  is  back  of  the  stars  and 
suns,  supporting  the  framework  of  the  universe, 
ripening  the  harvests  and  ordering  the  summers 
and  winters.  Overtaken  by  poverty,  despoiled 
by  despair,  wandering  as  sheep  without  a  shep- 
herd, in  their  bitterness  the  sheep  cry  out :  "  Is 
there  no  one  who  cares  for  me,  now  that  trouble 


304  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

has  run  a  ploughshare  through  the  garden  of  my 
life  ?  Is  there  no  one  who  cares  for  me,  despoiled 
and  heartbroken,  with  affections  torn  away,  as 
when  rude  foresters  strip  the  bleeding  vine  from 
the  trunk  to  which  it  clings  ?  Is  there  no  one 
who  cares  for  me,  overtaken  by  sudden  invalidism, 
doomed  to  drop  out  of  the  ranks  and  see  the  col- 
umns march  by,  leaving  me  a  wreck,  a  remnant 
and  a  failure?" 

Taught  by  its  instinct,  the  very  bird  finds  a 
way  into  tropic  gardens,  and  is  a  man  less  than 
a  bird  that  no  friends  should  open  up  a  way  to 
that  glowing  tropic  heart  that  we  call  God?  The 
children  of  misfortune  and  defeat  grow  very  bitter, 
for  man  cares  little  for  his  fellow-man.  Nothing 
in  our  world  is  so  cheap  as  human  beings.  That 
English  company  sent  the  ship  to  sea  knowing 
that  the  craft  would  break  up.  It  was  little  that 
they  lost  the  crew,  for  they  gained  the  insurance. 
On  land  men  are  so  cheap  and  worthless  that 
landlords  are  permitted  to  rent  rotten  rookeries 
that  ooze  disease  and  death  for  the  sake  of  the 
interest  on  their  capital.  A  little  grove  of  black 
walnut  trees  in  Michigan  sold  recently  for  a 
fortune,  but  men  are  so  cheap  that  every  place 
is  spoken  for,  every  loaf  is  preengaged  and  be- 
fore the  dying  man  is  buried,  his  place  is  filled. 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    305 

And  to  the  multitudes  floundering  in  the  wilder- 
ness Christ  became  the  "way,"  leading  men  to 
God  and  His  all-comforting  love.  He  bore  Him- 
self toward  men  after  the  pattern  of  earth's  most 
glorious  friendship. 

With  tranquillity  He  met  the  emergencies  of 
the  poor,  the  obscure,  the  publican,  the  outcast, 
the  sinner,  the  king,  the  scholar,  and  the  slave. 
He  touched  the  slave,  and  his  shackles  fell  off ; 
He  touched  the  weak,  and  they  became  too  strong 
to  be  oppressed ;  He  touched  the  home,  and  it 
became  a  bower  of  delight ;  He  touched  the 
cradle,  and  childhood  became  sacred ;  He  touched 
music,  and  it  became  pure  and  sweet ;  art,  and 
the  canvas  took  on  lustrous  beauty ;  architecture, 
and  it  became  worthy  of  man's  worship.  He 
lent  man  a  new  heart,  and  the  publican  rose  up 
with  the  dignity  of  a  king.  He  taught  man  the 
law  of  love,  and  that  law  brought  order  into 
society  and  the  realm  of  morals,  as  Newton's  law 
of  gravity  brought  law  and  harmony  into  the 
realm  of  matter.  Men  came  to  God  through 
Christ  with  their  prayers,  for  He  sympathized 
with  their  sufferings ;  they  brought  their  burdens, 
and  He  dissolved  them  ;  they  brought  their  tears, 
and  His  hand  wiped  them  away ;  they  brought 
in  their  dead  and  He  made  them  live.  For  the 


306  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

common  people,  Christ's  cross  and  His  atoning 
sacrifice  opened  up  a  "  way "  to  happiness, 
progress,  social  strength,  prosperity,  and  peace. 

For  the  poets,  also,  ruled  by  imagination, 
those  who  hear  the  oak  within  the  acorn's  shell, 
hear  the  song  within  the  egg  of  the  lark,  hear 
the  wisdom  of  the  sage  in  the  prattle  of  the 
child.  By  way  of  preeminence,  Browning  and 
Tennyson  have  been  called  the  voices  of  our 
generation.  Both  made  themselves  familiar  with 
the  results  of  the  latest  scientific  investigation. 
Among  their  close  friends  were  Tyndall  and 
Huxley,  and  some  of  the  apostles  of  doubt  and 
despair.  Recounting  his  movement  from  doubt 
to  faith,  Tennyson  tells  us  he  was  deeply  troubled 
and  perplexed  by  the  apparent  confusion  and 
waste  of  life  and  by  the  vast  amount  of  sin  and 
suffering  throughout  the  world.  Pursuing  his  in- 
vestigations, he  came  to  feel  that  nature  was  full 
of  imperfections,  rapine,  and  cruelty.  Having 
grappled  long  with  anguish  and  darkness,  doubt 
and  death,  at  last  he  found  Him  whom  he  said 
was  the  "way  to  God."  "None  knoweth  the 
Father  save  the  Son,  and  he  to  whom  the  Son 
will  reveal  him.  I  am  amazed  at  Christ's  purity 
and  holiness  and  at  his  infinite  beauty.  The  forms 
of  religion  may  change,  but  Christ  will  grow  more 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  tbe  Seer    307 

and  more  in  the  roll  of  ages.  His  character  is  more 
wonderful  than  the  greatest  miracle."  Taught 
by  Christ,  Browning  and  Tennyson  say  they 
learned  that  God  is  love,  and  that  the  soul's  love 
to  God  in  return  is  the  true  basis  of  "  duty,  truth, 
reverence,  loyalty,  love,  virtue,  and  work."  Indeed, 
it  was  Browning's  words  that  seem  to  have  lent 
Professor  Henry  Drummond  that  beautiful  confes- 
sion of  his  faith  in  Christ :  "  the  recoverableness 
of  man  at  his  worst  is  the  gift  of  Christ ;  the  for- 
giveness of  sins  comes  by  Christ's  cross ;  the 
power  to  set  the  heart  right  is  Christ's  grant ;  the 
hope  of  immortality  springs  from  Christ's  grave ; 
religion  means  a  personal  trust  in  God,  a  personal 
debt  to  Christ,  a  personal  dedication  to  His  cause. 
These,  brought  about  how  you  will,  are  supreme 
things  to  aim  at,  supreme  loss  if  they  are  missed." 
For  all  men  Christ  is  the  way  to  an  immortal 
hope.  Before  Christ  lived  and  died  the  Tuscans 
made  each  tomb  face  the  west,  for  the  soul's 
sun  had  set  never  to  rise.  After  Christ,  tombs 
faced  the  east,  for  the  sun  had  disappeared 
to  stand  again  upon  the  horizon,  clothed  with 
untroubled  splendor.  There  is  a  chamber  in 
the  catacombs  used  about  the  time  of  Julius 
Caesar,  and  every  tomb  has  emblems  of  the  skull 
and  crossbones.  Hard  by  is  another  chamber 


308  Christ's  Relation  to  the  Poet, 

of  a  later  generation,  and  lo !  Christ's  teachings 
have  carved  upon  each  stone  a  lily,  eloquent  of 
immortal  hope.  In  his  "Disputations"  Cicero 
said  the  endowments  of  the  soul  seem  to  imply 
another  life.  The  unthinking  oak  lives  many 
centuries.  Even  such  a  brute  as  the  elephant 
had  a  career  that  touched  the  confines  of  two 
centuries.  But  if  man  entered  the  scene  clothed 
with  the  attributes  of  God,  he  had  years  less  than 
the  beast  and  the  arena  of  an  insect.  What  a 
creator  was  man !  He  entered  the  desert,  and  it 
became  a  garden ;  he  turned  wild  rice  into  yellow 
harvests,  forked  sticks  into  great  ploughs,  papyrus 
leaves  into  books,  huge  stones  into  temples  and 
cathedrals,  made  the  desert  a  garden  and  the 
wilderness  a  city.  Yet,  beneath  the  oak  living 
for  centuries,  sleeps  Cicero  and  some  twenty  gen- 
erations of  his  descendants,  so  ephemeral  is  man's 
career.  Not  until  fifteen  does  the  youth  awake  to 
the  thought  "I  live  !  "  A  few  days  later  he  finds 
a  grave  digged  in  the  waving  grass,  and  man  ex- 
claims, "  I  shall  die  !  "  Then  comes  life's  greatest 
thought,  "Dying,  I  shall  live  again." 

The  Roman  orators  exclaimed,  "If  there  be 
a  meeting  place  of  the  dead ! "  Then  Christ 
entered  the  scene  whispering  that  God  was  fully 
equal  to  the  emergency  named  "death."  Unto 


The  Philosopher,  the  Scientist,  and  the  Seer    309 

God  all  live.  Passing  through  the  grave  He 
exclaimed,  "  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also ! " 
And  from  that  hour  death  was  clothed  with 
sweet  allurement.  The  falling  statesman,  the 
dying  martyr  and  mother,  welcome  the  signs  of 
death  as  signals  hanged  from  the  heavenly  battle- 
ments. The  iron  mask  of  death  fell  off,  and 
death  stood  forth,  a  shining  angel  of  God  com- 
ing for  welcome  and  convoy.  The  dark  river 
narrowed  to  a  tiny  ribbon.  It  seemed  but  a 
step  to  the  immortal  shore.  The  path  of  death 
became  a  path  of  living  light.  Striking  hands 
with  Jesus  Christ,  the  little  child,  the  sage,  the 
statesman,  and  the  seer  alike  went  joyously 
toward  death,  and  disappearing,  passed  on  into 
an  immortal  summer. 


XIII 

,  3Lafo,  anti  5Lobe  as  JHottbeg  of  3Life 


"Love  is  the  medicine  of  all  moral  evil.  By  it  the  world  is 
to  be  cured  of  sin.  Love  is  the  wine  of  existence.  When  you 
have  taken  that,  you  have  taken  the  most  precious  drop  that 
there  is  in  the  cluster.  Love  is  the  seraph,  and  faith  and  hope 
are  but  the  wings  by  which  it  flies.  The  nature  of  the  highest 
love  is  to  be  exquisitely  sensitive  to  the  act  of  forcing  itself 
unbidden  and  unwelcome  upon  another.  The  finer,  the 
stronger,  the  higher  love  is,  the  more  it  is  conditioned  upon 
reciprocation.  No  man  can  afford  to  invest  his  being  in 
anything  lower  than  faith,  hope,  love  —  these  three,  the 
greatest  of  which  is  love." 

—  HENRY  WARD  BEECHER. 


XIII 

FEAR,   LAW,   AND  LOVE  AS  MOTIVES  OF  LIFE 

Man  embarrassed  by  over-abundance  of  treasure.  Our  earth 
so  vast,  no  foot  can  visit  all  shrines.  Impossible  for  the  mind 
to  harvest  all  truth  and  beauty.  Therefore  division  of  mental 
labor.  Fascinations  of  the  moral  realm.  Heroes  and  saints 
represent  different  and  sometimes  opposing  features.  The 
possible  motives  of  character.  Fear  the  fundamental  motive. 
Place  of  fear  in  individual  life.  Fear  and  social  progress. 
Self-interest  as  a  high  motive.  Ambition  and  personal  growth. 
The  dream  of  wisdom,  wealth,  influence,  and  character.  Men 
allured  forward  from  in  front  rather  than  scourged  from  be- 
hind. Law  and  duty  as  motives.  A  world  of  laws.  The 
ruins  along  the  pathway  of  time  as  proclaiming  the  danger  of 
disobedience.  Obedience  and  happiness.  Love  as  crowning 
motive.  Love  and  the  imagination.  Love  lends  fertility  to 
the  reason.  Love  arms  against  enmities.  Love  the  summer 
of  the  soul.  Love  as  a  revelator  of  God.  Love  the  fulfilment 
of  the  higher  manhood. 


earth  is  so  vast  that  no  foot  can  visit 
all  shrines,  and  no  mind  harvest  all  of  earth's 
truth  and  beauty.  Man  is  embarrassed  by  over- 
abundance of  treasure.  We  are  told  that  Herod- 
otus was  the  first  to  attempt  a  full  exploration 


314  Fear,  Law,  and  Love 

of  our  earth.  Returning  home  after  a  long  jour- 
ney, the  Grecian  reported  the  earth  an  island, 
flat,  fifteen  hundred  miles  in  diameter,  and  re- 
quiring a  period  of  five  years  for  complete  knowl- 
edge. Since  those  far-off  days,  travellers  have 
caused  our  earth  to  greatly  extend  her  shores, 
and  take  on  many  islands  and  continents.  And 
the  work  of  enlargement  is  still  going  on.  Last 
winter  an  English  ship  returned  home  from  a 
voyage  amidst  the  icebergs  of  the  Antarctic 
Ocean  to  report  the  finding  of  an  icebound  con- 
tinent, apparently  larger  than  Greenland.  To-day, 
should  the  old  Grecian  traveller  revisit  our 
planet,  he  would  be  constrained  to  confess  that 
the  earth  has  become  so  long,  and  life  so  short, 
that  man  must  be  content  to  remain  ignorant 
of  many  storied  lands  and  scenes.  If  in  the 
autumn  we  linger  beside  the  lovely  lakes  of  the 
Adirondacks,  or  in  winter  journey  into  the  sunny 
clime  of  Florida,  if  in  June  we  follow  the  sum- 
mer, as  it  advances,  over  the  Berkshire  Hills,  we 
shall  feel  that  each  of  these  realms  of  beauty 
asks  for  a  lifetime  of  study.  Desirous  of  dwell- 
ing in  each  spot  famed  for  loveliness,  Cicero  had 
five  country  villas  in  addition  to  his  city  home. 
When  the  great  orator  had  multiplied  houses, 
he  found  that  he  could  live  but  in  one  place  at 


As  Motives  of  Life  315 

a  time.  Building  in  the  city,  man  must  forego 
the  country,  with  its  glorious  forests,  its  gar- 
dens, its  choral  fields.  Building  his  home  in 
the  northern  woods,  man  remembers  with  regret 
that  the  city  is  the  home  of  music,  art,  and 
eloquence. 

Nor  are  the  realms  of  knowledge  less  numer- 
ous or  vast.  Listening  to  some  jurist's  argu- 
ment, the  youth  covets  oratory  and  its  varied 
forms  of  learning  and  power.  But  to-morrow, 
lingering  in  the  gallery,  the  boy  will  regret  that 
he  had  not  chosen  the  beautiful  for  his  life  pur- 
suit. Growing  older,  man  learns  that  his  years 
are  all  too  short  for  him  to  attain  unto  equal 
excellence  in  all  realms  of  life  and  learning.  In 
Cuvier's  day  the  scientist  took  all  knowledge 
for  his  province.  To-day  one  scientist  gives  his 
life  to  the  oak  or  willow,  another  to  the  beetle 
or  silkworm ;  while  in  the  mental  realm,  one 
studies  reason  or  affections,  another  memory  or 
motives.  In  the  vast  tropic  plantations  in  Brazil, 
it  is  necessary  for  one  group  of  servants  to  give 
exclusive  attention  to  the  pineapple  or  orange 
grove,  or  the  fragrant  coffee  fields.  Thus  the 
vastness  of  the  realm  of  knowledge  has  com- 
pelled a  division  of  mental  labor.  Holmes  says 
Newton  or  Leibnitz  painted  nature  with  a  free 


316  Fear,  Law,  and  Low 

hand,  and  standing  back,  admired  it  as  a  whole, 
with  the  rapture  of  archangels.  But  nowadays, 
knowledge  is  a  vast  mosaic,  each  scientist  bring- 
ing his  little  piece  and  stitching  it  in  place,  but 
so  taken  up  with  his  petty  fragment  that  he  has 
no  thought  for  the  great  picture  the  little  bits 
make  when  put  together.  Indeed,  through  the 
microscope  a  small  piece  of  iron  becomes  as 
large  as  a  world.  In  the  hardest  steel  the  parti- 
cles stand  aloof  like  trees  in  a  forest.  Each 
molecule  is  separated  from  its  fellow  by  a  dis- 
tance equal  to  its  own  diameter.  Journeying 
outward  with  the  telescope,  we  find  the  starry 
world  sown  with  suns,  that  fly  out  from  the 
Creator's  hand  much  as  sparks  fly  from  under 
the  smith's  hammer ;  and  each  star  is  replete 
with  beauty.  Reflections  like  these  tell  us  that 
man's  hand  was  made  for  one  flower  or  one 
golden  bough,  and  not  for  the  full  summer. 
Man's  career  of  seventy  years  asks  for  several 
books,  not  all  the  libraries ;  for  a  group  of  friends, 
not  all  humanity.  Man  must  content  himself 
with  visiting  a  few  mountains  and  lakes,  a  few 
ancient  cities  and  civilizations.  The  finite  foot 
can  never  overtake  infinite  beauty. 

From   this    overlargeness    of    the   world-house 
we  pass  easily  to    the   thought    that   the   mortal 


As  Motives  of  Life  317 

realm  is  large  enough  for  earth's  millions,  but 
too  large  for  one  man.  A  world  that  offers  in- 
numerable landscapes  and  faces  unto  an  artist 
whose  life  avails  but  for  a  few.  pictures,  will  also 
present  a  thousand  avenues  of  heart  excellence 
to  the  individual  whose  feet  can  move  along  but 
one  pathway.  The  tropical  richness  of  the  moral 
realm  makes  each  individual  an  eclectic.  As  the 
traveller  planning  his  journey  is  enticed  westward 
by  the  attractions  of  Japan  and  India,  and  is  at 
the  same  time  allured  eastward  toward  the  land 
of  the  Parthenon  or  Pyramids,  so  each  heart 
must  choose  between  the  excellences  that  make 
the  mind  strong  toward  the  home  or  the  city, 
or  make  the  heart  helpful  toward  the  orphan  or 
the  slave.  As  the  glory  of  a  wheatfield  is  one 
and  the  glory  of  an  orange  grove  another,  so 
there  is  one  moral  glory  of  the  factory  and 
another  glory  of  the  office ;  one  glory  of  the 
schoolroom  and  another  glory  of  the  home :  for 
one  virtue  differs  from  another  virtue  in  glory. 
If  some  Howard  chooses  self-abnegation  and 
becomes  a  reformer  toward  the  bottom  of 
society,  some  Gladstone,  choosing  self-enrich- 
ment and  the  moulding  of  states,  will  become  a 
reformer  toward  the  top  of  society. 

Recalling    these    apostolic     heroes    who    gave 


318  Fear,  Law,  and  Love 

Christianity  its  powerful  impulse,  we  find  these 
giants  pass  before  the  mind  clothed  with  dis- 
similarity. Paul  comes  before  us  in  the  garb  of 
a  philosopher  and  logician.  He  assumes,  he 
reflects,  he  links  argument  to  argument.  With 
iron  logic  he  pulls  us  on  toward  an  irresistible 
conclusion.  But  John  was  a  poet  and  seer.  He 
comes  musing,  weeping,  loving,  aspiring.  Over 
against  the  city  Ephesus,  that  seemed  a  volcano 
pouring  forth  passions  like  lurid  lava,  the  poet 
projected  the  city  of  God,  with  gates  of  pearl 
and  ever  blooming  trees,  with  fountains  of  the 
water  of  life.  But  James  is  unlike  either.  He 
is  very  practical.  Reading  the  argument  of  Paul, 
the  apostle  of  works  reflects  that  philosophy 
bakes  no  bread.  Reading  the  vision  of  John 
and  thinking  of  the  widow  and  orphan,  he  seems 
to  anticipate  General  Booth's  words,  "  One 
pot  of  hot  gruel,  two  petticoats,  and  a  wool 
blanket  are  worth  a  lake  full  of  tears."  Yet  no 
thoughtful  man  will  be  disturbed  by  these  dis- 
similarities. In  every  age  there  have  been  two 
classes  in  the  church :  the  one  emphasizes  knowl- 
edge and  culture;  the  other  emphasizes  affection 
and  sentiment.  And  outside  of  the  church  stands 
a  third  class  of  Christians,  whose  emphasis  has 
been  upon  good  deeds,  conduct,  and  character. 


As  Motives  of  Life  319 

In  the  physical  realm,  our  sun,  flooding  each 
root  and  germ  with  sunshine,  asks  each  violet 
or  palm  to  move  toward  its  own  excellence. 
Thus,  Jesus  Christ,  rising  in  his  full  splen- 
dor upon  the  soul's  horizon,  urges  each  soul  to 
fulfil  its  own  unique  career.  The  unity  of  the 
moral  realm  is  the  unity  of  the  summer  and  not 
the  unity  of  a  sand  heap. 

To  man,  delaying  his  choice  of  one  of  the 
many  avenues  of  excellence,  come  certain  guid- 
ing motives.  The  soul  is  a  mechanism  driven 
forward  by  its  desires.  Certain  powerful  stimu- 
lants called  love  of  knowledge  or  friendship  or 
affluence  act  upon  the  soul  as  winds  upon  the 
ship.  If  we  study  these  motives  in  detail  we 
shall  see  that  their  number  and  kind  determine 
man's  value  and  character.  The  initial  motive 
and  the  root  of  all  excellence  is  fear.  Of  old 
the  sage  said,  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the 
beginning  of  wisdom."  But  fear  is  also  present 
in  the  flower  and  fruitage  of  moral  excellence. 
Indeed,  without  the  instinct  of  fear  man  would 
soon  perish  out  of  the  earth.  The  world  is  full 
of  destruction.  Man  is  threatened  by  fire  and 
threatened  by  water  and  threatened  by  his  fel- 
lows. He  needed  a  place  of  refuge  and  a  coat 
of  mail  to  protect  him  against  the  arrows  of 


320  Fear,  Law,  and  Love 

assault,  and  fear  was  ordained  as  armor  and  cas- 
tle. Moving  through  the  forest,  fear  goes  before 
man,  guarding  him  against  the  thorn  and  the 
brier.  Fear  warns  man  against  wild  beasts  and 
carries  him  in  safety  over  seas  and  rivers. 
Building  a  house,  fear  makes  it  fireproof.  Front- 
ing danger,  fear  forges  a  weapon.  In  presence 
of  disease,  fear  searches  out  a  remedy.  Having 
preserved  man's  life,  fear  goes  on  to  become  the 
spring  of  his  civilization.  The  fear  of  cold  com- 
pels industry  and  stimulates  the  savage  to  build- 
ing a  house.  The  fear  of  hunger  compels 
ploughing  and  sowing  and  reaping.  Fear  of  want 
in  old  age  stimulates  the  youth  toward  economy 
and  thrift.  Tempted  toward  sin,  the  fear  of 
public  opinion  safeguards  man  against  vice  and 
crime.  Misunderstanding,  some  affect  to  despise 
this  divine  instinct.  Such  persons  do  not  see 
that  God  ordained  fear  as  an  alarm-bell  for 
maintaining  the  integrity  of  man's  being.  The 
Nantucket  reef,  with  hidden  rocks  that  threaten 
ships,  is  guarded  with  fog-bells  that  by  day  and 
night  ring  out  warning  and  alarm.  Thus  fear 
is  ordained  as  the  primal  impulse  to  secure  man's 
safety  and  urge  him  along  the  paths  of  growth, 
prosperity,  and  peace. 

To-day   fear  appears    in   our   civilization    in   a 


As  Motives  of  Life  $2\ 

hundred  forms.  It  is  manifest  in  the  magistrate 
and  the  policeman,  in  the  health  board  and  the 
physician,  and  also  in  every  institution  that  pro- 
tects property  or  reputation  or  life.  Allied  with 
duty,  it  appears  in  the  intense  consciousness  of 
good  men.  Allied  with  generosity,  it  lends 
inspiration  to  the  reformer.  Underneath  love, 
fear  gives  solicitude  and  thoughtfulness  to  father 
and  mother.  Lest  danger  may  attack  honor  or 
family  or  business,  men  are  made  afraid.  Fear 
is  a  sentinel  standing  upon  the  walls,  watching 
against  the  enemy.  It  is,  to  be  sure,  only  the 
beginning  of  character.  It  is  a  root  virtue.  But 
while  the  apple  tree  needs  a  root,  man  can  ap- 
proach the  tree  only  when  it  attains  unto  the 
fruit  ripened  in  love's  atmosphere.  When  the 
husbandman  plants  the  seed,  two  things  are 
necessary  for  growth.  First  comes  the  winter. 
The  plantlet  is  there,  but  it  is  shut  in  between 
thick  walls.  The  sunbeam  avails  not  for  liberty. 
Then  comes  the  frost  to  drive  in  its  wedges, 
and  split  the  shell  apart.  Once  freed,  the 
plantlet  passes  out  of  the  dominion  of  winter. 
Its  continued  life  waits  for  the  summer's  com- 
ing. Thus  fear  is  a  low  and  wintry  motive.  It 
is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  yet  it  accompanies 
love  unto  the  end.  Fear  is  the  subbass  upon 


322  Fear,  Law,  and  Love 

which    the   higher   and    nobler    melodies   of   life 
roll  and  rest. 

A  second  motive  driving  man  along  the  path- 
way of  progress  is  self-interest.  When  fear  hath 
driven  man  into  one  realm  of  excellence,  ambi- 
tion to  excel  drives  him  into  another.  The 
desire  for  precedence  is  a  powerful  mainspring 
moving  upon  all  his  faculties.  Man  is  a  bundle 
of  aspirations.  He  might  be  defined  as  the 
animal  with  the  upward  look.  This  hunger  for 
growth  and  supremacy  is  not  confined  to  the 
prince  in  his  palace.  In  the  humblest  toiler 
there  is  a  germinal  ambition  that  answers  to 
that  passion  in  Napoleon  that  urged  the  great 
general  forward  upon  his  career  of  conquest, 
and  drove  him  through  hundreds  of  battles  from 
Lodi  to  Waterloo.  Indeed,  without  this  motive, 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  a  man  could  achieve 
any  progress  or  character.  Xenophon  tells  us 
of  a  Grecian  youth  who  was  so  eager  to  win 
the  chariot  race  that  he  added  steed  to  steed 
until  there  were  eight  fiery  chargers  pulling  his 
eager  chariot  toward  the  goal.  In  the  interest 
of  his  speedy  progress  and  enlargement,  man 
binds  himself  to  many  powerful  forces  called 
love  of  property,  love  of  home,  love  of  reputa- 
tion, love  of  man  and  God.  And  there  is  no 


As  Motives  of  Life  323 

form  of  moral  supremacy  that  self-interest  will 
not  help  man  to  secure.  Ambition  to  instruct 
others  makes  man  a  scholar.  Ambition  to  influ- 
ence multitudes  makes  man  an  orator.  Ambi- 
tion to  distribute  universal  bounty  makes  one  a 
successful  business  man.  Ambition  to  right 
wrongs  and  correct  abuses  makes  man  a  states- 
man. Ambition  for  God's  smile  makes  him  a 
humble  Christian.  Even  when  selfness  degen- 
erates into  selfishness,  it  has  sometimes  been 
overruled  toward  progress. 

Thus  the  French  kings  of  the  eighteenth 
century  oppressed  the  people  with  heavy  taxes. 
The  tithe  gatherers  swept  the  land  as  one 
sweeps  a  granary.  With  their  accumulated 
treasure  these  French  monarchs  developed  parks, 
built  palaces,  brought  in  sculptors  and  painters 
from  foreign  lands.  But  when  the  palaces  were 
rilled  with  paintings  and  marbles  and  tapestries 
and  vases  and  curios  from  every  land,  the  kings 
were  swept  away,  and  these  vast  art  treasures 
were  handed  over  to  the  people.  Thus  these 
galleries,  builded  and  filled  by  selfishness,  became 
granaries  that  sowed  the  land  with  universal  civili- 
zation. And,  not  infrequently,  selfishness  in  the 
individual  is  also  overruled  for  society's  good. 
Sometimes,  when  it  is  proposed  to  found  a  library 


324  Fear,  Law,  and  Love 

or  gallery,  the  subscription  book  is  taken  to  a  man 
who  has  no  interest  in  the  proposed  institution, 
but  who  greatly  needs  the  influence  of  the  pro- 
moters thereof.  Anticipating  some  future  gain, 
the  selfish  man  does  a  generous  deed.  He  invests 
his  generosity  as  a  sower  invests  his  seed,  be- 
lieving it  will  return  with  quadruple  treasure. 
He  will  help  build  a  statue  to  the  poet  or 
statesman,  not  through  gratitude  to  the  world's 
benefactor,  but  to  further  his  own  interests. 
Later  on  the  selfish  man  discovers  that  the 
memory  of  a  generous  deed  is  one  of  life's 
keenest  pleasures.  Having  begun  in  selfishness, 
he  goes  on  to  be  generous  for  its  own  sake. 
And  thus  every  form  of  integrity  is  made  to 
bring  in  large  returns  of  money  and  of  friends. 
Honesty  and  godliness  will  not  quicken  the 
slow  thought  or  transform  dulness  into  genius 
or  give  the  inventor's  skill  to  a  hand  naturally 
clumsy ;  but,  given  the  root  forces  —  common 
sense,  sane  judgment,  courage,  and  energy  —  and 
then  add  moral  honesty,  —  sterling  honesty,  hon- 
esty that  is  continuous  in  all  its  fidelities, 
honesty  that  guards  another's  interests  as  its 
own,  honesty  that  is  above  suspicion  or  reproach 
or  temptation, — why,  the  money  value  of  such 
integrity  is  above  rubies !  The  Latin  poet  tells 


As  Motives  of  Life  325 

us  of  a  goddess  who  rolled  apples  along  the 
pathway  before  a  group  of  children.  Pursuing 
the  celestial  fruit,  the  children  of  earth  went 
heavenward  with  shouts  of  glee.  How  beautiful 
this  legend  telling  us  that  God  sends  messengers 
with  rewards  many  and  rich  before  him  who 
moves  along  the  pathway  of  honor  and  integrity! 
But  when  fear  hath  guarded  man  against 
danger,  and  self-interest  hath  taught  man  to 
make  the  most  possible  of  himself,  the  in- 
dividual enters  into  another  realm.  Moving 
upward,  man  comes  under  the  influence  of  con- 
science and  duty.  He  finds  himself  in  a  world 
of  laws.  Laws  wall  man  around,  laws  dome 
him  over,  laws  make  the  ground  solid  beneath 
his  feet.  Every  star  and  stone  is  obedient. 
Nothing  is  independent.  The  planets  go  whither 
they  are  bidden.  Rivers  obey  their  banks.  Trees 
fulfil  the  law  of  growth.  Laws  are  celestial  belts 
that  move  from  one  planet  to  another.  The  same 
law  that  rounds  the  sun  orbs  the  tear  on  the 
babe's  cheek.  Disobedience  to  these  laws  means 
destruction.  Should  our  earth  disobey  the  law 
that  moves  it  toward  Neptune,  it  would  soon 
fall  into  the  sun's  fiery  abyss.  Looking  back- 
ward over  the  pathway  of  history,  we  see  that 
those  cities  and  civilizations  that  have  been 


326  Fear,  Law,  and  Love 

destroyed  were  all  breakers  of  law.  Thebes  and 
Athens  are  in  ruins,  because  they  sinned  deeply 
against  the  laws  of  the  home  and  the  state  and 
of  God.  Not  time,  not  summer  nor  winter 
lifted  the  destroying  hammer  above  the  temples 
and  marbles  of  Phidias.  It  was  disobedience  to 
law  that  made  the  temple  a  heap  and  the  city 
a  ruin. 

Three  hundred  years  ago  Italy  possessed  art 
treasures  innumerable.  To-day  only  a  few  broken 
fragments  and  a  few  rotting  canvases  remain. 
But  these  precious  art  treasures  would  have  ex- 
isted in  all  their  splendor  for  thousands  of  years 
had  it  not  been  for  man's  destroying  agency. 
Man  has  been  the  mildew  that  destroyed  the 
pictures,  that  shattered  the  statue,  the  fire  kin- 
dled upon  the  fresco.  Out  of  many  reflections 
like  these  we  learn  that  the  highest  liberty 
comes  through  obedience  to  law,  while  disobe- 
dience is  slavery.  Disobeying  the  law  of  fire, 
man  becomes  houseless.  Disobeying  the  law  of 
gravity,  man  falls  from  the  dizzy  height.  Break- 
ing laws  of  food  and  rest,  man's  body  becomes 
a  bundle  of  agonies.  But  going  upward  toward 
obedience  to  law,  man  attains  liberty.  His 
biographer  exhibits  the  youth,  Wendell  Phillips, 
as  a  timid,  bashful  debater.  One  day,  after  hear- 


As  Motives  of  Life  327 

ing  the  great  orator,  a  Southern  slaveholder 
exclaimed,  "If  we  allow  this  man  to  keep  on 
speaking,  he  will  soon  talk  the  fetters  off  all 
our  slaves."  Similarly,  by  obedience  to  the  law 
of  beauty,  the  artist's  brush  became  as  full  of 
color  as  the  summer  itself.  There  never  was  a 
man  who  attained  unto  any  degree  of  excellence 
or  art  or  statecraft  who  did  not  climb  up  unto 
excellence  by  obedience  to  laws  that  are  rounds 
in  the  golden  ladder  of  success.  Often  these 
laws  are  irksome,  and  full  oft  they  seem  griev- 
ous burdens.  The  obedience  of  many  is  only  a 
means  of  escaping  disaster.  They  think  they 
will  be  damned  if  they  do  wrong.  Rather  than 
be  damned  they  do  right.  To  all  such,  the  laws 
of  right  seem  forms  of  tyranny.  All  such  move 
upward,  scourged  thither  by  conscience. 

But  when  the  sentinel  fear  hath  guarded  the 
city  of  man's  soul  against  its  enemies,  when  self- 
ness  has  stored  the  city  with  treasures  of  wisdom 
and  friendship  and  integrity ;  when  laws  have 
restrained  man  from  the  precipice,  then  love 
comes  in  to  cast  out  fear.  Then  the  root  and 
stalk  condition  is  transmuted  upward  into  fruit 
and  flower.  The  inspiration  of  fear  and  law  gives 
way  to  the  fuller  inspiration  and  stimulus  of  love. 
As  the  summer,  with  its  silent  warmth,  avails 


328  Fear,  Law,  and  Love 

more  for  harvest  than  can  the  winter,  with  its 
majesty  of  storm  and  wind,  so  the  inspiration  of 
love  achieves  what  the  inspiration  of  duty  cannot. 
What  a  garden  is  in  summer,  filled  with  perfumed 
shrubs  and  flowers  and  the  song  of  birds,  that  fear 
and  duty  and  conscience  are,  when  shone  upon  by 
love.  But,  without  love,  law  and  duty  are  like 
unto  a  garden  in  the  winter,  bare,  leafless,  for- 
saken of  birds,  beaten  upon  by  winds.  The  great 
violinist  tells  us  that  when  he  was  but  six  years 
old  he  practised  six  hours  a  day.  He  achieved 
this  feat  of  industry  and  mastered  the  laws  of  mel- 
ody because  he  feared  his  father's  anger.  Rather 
than  be  whipped  he  refrained  from  discord.  But 
the  day  came  when  the  child  of  ten  was  an  orphan. 
Then  the  love  of  parents  was  succeeded  by  the 
love  of  music.  He  came  to  have  an  overmaster- 
ing passion  for  his  violin.  Rising  up  early,  before 
his  taskmaster  called  him,  sitting  up  late,  the  little 
child  poured  out  his  very  soul  in  sweet  song.  Love 
taught  him  to  avoid  discord  ;  love  fulfilled  in  him 
all  sweet  harmonies.  Love  made  his  fingers  glide 
over  the  strings  with  a  facility  swifter  than  a  bird's 
flight  in  the  air.  Fear  of  blows  made  the  child 
but  a  mediocre  musician.  But  love  made  him  a 
genius,  and  put  his  name  in  every  man's  mouth. 
And  every  true  man  and  woman  knows  that 


As  Motives  of  Life  329 

there  is  no  true  magician  like  love.  With  what 
beauty  does  love  embellish  the  object  of  its  affec- 
tions !  What  dreams  and  ambitions  love  awakens 
and  afterward  fulfils  !  What  fruitfulness  it  lends  to 
the  imagination  !  What  springs  of  happiness  does 
it  open  up !  What  faults  and  frailties  does  it  cor- 
rect !  Lest  they  may  injure  its  dear  ones,  love 
subdues  rage  and  anger  and  obstinacy.  And  later 
on,  love  becomes  a  prophet.  Arguments  do  not 
always  avail  for  proving  immortality.  Sometimes 
reason  says  that,  because  the  sun  goes  down  in 
night,  perhaps  the  soul  in  death  may  set  never  to 
rise  again.  But  when  man  digs  a  grave  in  the 
grass  for  her  who  has  been  the  inspiration  of  his 
life,  or  for  the  child  who  rose  above  his  life  like  a 
star  in  the  open  sky,  then  by  the  grave  where  rea- 
son's taper  goes  out,  love  flames  out  anew  its  light 
and  hope,  and  leads  man  along  a  bright  pathway 
toward  a  better  land.  June  itself  is  not  so  full 
of  ripeness  and  beauty  as  is  the  heart  that  loves. 
As  summer  fills  full  all  seeds,  so  love  fills  full,  or 
as  we  say  fulfils,  all  laws. 

Now  the  transition  from  fear  to  love  that  asks 
but  threescore  years  for  the  individual,  requires 
hundreds  of  years  for  the  race.  For  centuries  the 
rich  governed  man  through  the  inspiration  of  ter- 
ror. Not  only  society  but  theology  also  was  in  the 


330  Fear,  Law,  and  Love 

stage  of  fear  and  law.  In  the  Middle  Ages  men 
went  toward  heaven  to  escape  hell,  and  men  were 
literally  saved  "as  by  fire."  But  as  society  has 
moved  upward  unto  love,  theology  has  shared  in 
the  forward  movement.  To-day  all  religious  think- 
ing is  in  the  midst  of  a  mighty  transition.  The 
theologies  of  fear  are  breaking  up.  The  philoso- 
phy organized  about  terror  and  Satan  is  giving 
way  to  one  organized  about  love  and  Jesus  Christ. 
In  the  Middle  Ages,  government  was  through  the 
fagot,  the  rack,  and  the  dungeon.  The  methods 
of  fear  that  influenced  the  throne  prevailed  also  in 
the  pulpit. 

In  such  an  age  even  Michael  Angelo  painted 
Christ  as  an  avenging  Hercules,  bending  his 
strength  toward  vengeance  upon  sinners.  In  his 
celebrated  picture  of  the  "  Last  Judgment,"  the 
artist  opens  up  a  fiery  pit,  surrounds  it  with 
demons,  endowed  with  skill  for  every  kind  of  tor- 
ture, and  sweeps  nine-tenths  of  every  generation 
into  the  fiery  abyss,  as  a  housewife  sweeps  fties 
into  a  red-hot  stove  when  the  lid  is  off.  In  that 
picture,  even  the  saints  manifest  riotous  joy  over 
the  fate  of  the  wicked.  But  this  is  the  theology 
to  be  expected  from  a  rude  and  animal  state  of 
society.  If  an  age  is  ever  in  morals,  it  will  be 
governed  by  fear  and  laws.  In  those  days  the  sym- 


As  Motives  of  Life  331 

pathetic  element  had  not  been  developed.  There 
was  no  sense  of  brotherhood  in  suffering.  Theology 
had  no  sensitiveness.  John  Calvin  was  scarcely 
more  than  animated  syllogism.  If  the  theologian's 
heart  had  been  as  keen  as  his  mind,  he  would  have 
lost  his  reason  and  earth  become  one  vast  mad- 
house. But  to-day  the  transition  from  fear  to 
love  is  being  accomplished  with  mighty  pain  and 
great  danger.  Many  have  removed  the  inspira- 
tions of  fear  without  supplanting  them  with  the 
incitements  of  duty  and  love.  But  so  long  as 
society  exhibits  any  trace  of  the  serpent  or  wolf, 
so  long  must  fear  have  a  corresponding  place.  In 
man's  thinking  there  still  are  reasons  for  fear  to 
be  found  in  man's  body  and  mind.  And  when  it 
is  given  us  to  see  men  whose  living  has  returned 
to  barbaric  conditions,  we  may  well  be  profoundly 
and  keenly  afraid. 

To-day,  with  the  great  scholar  we  may  well 
exclaim,  "  Calvin  and  Edwards  make  me  fear  and 
tremble ;  Bishop  Butler  makes  me  to  be  amazed ; 
Liddon  and  Beecher  make  me  believe ;  but  Jesus 
Christ  makes  me  hope  and  love."  O  happy  gen- 
eration !  in  the  midst  of  which  stands  the  divine 
Saviour,  teaching  our  age  how  love  casts  out  all  j 
fear,  and  fulfils  all  law.  In  the  realm  of  the  state, 
our  citizens  have  become  patriots  —  not  through 


332  Fear,  Law,  and  Love 

fear  of  the  traitor's  death,  but  through  love  of 
home  and  native  land.  In  the  realm  of  the  beau- 
tiful, our  artists  are  achieving  excellence  —  not 
through  hatred  of  ugliness,  but  through  love  of 
beautiful  faces  and  landscapes.  In  the  realm  of 
higher  education,  our  city  is  being  profoundly 
influenced  —  not  because  these  teachers  hate  false- 
hood, but  because  they  have  a  mighty  love  for 
truth.  In  our  school  days,  the  historian  astonished 
us  by  the  story  of  the  hired  Persian  troops,  who 
went  into  battle  followed  by  officers  with  whips. 
The  mercenaries  conquered,  not  through  love  of  a 
noble  cause,  but  through  fear  of  a  cruel  scourge. 
But  the  Athenian's  march  was  not  a  flight  away 
from  a  scourge  :  love  for  his  beautiful  city  fired  his 
heart  with  enthusiasm,  made  his  arm  invincible, 
made  it  even  a  delight  to  die  for  his  native  city. 
Thus  all  the  columns  of  society  are  journeying  up- 
ward —  not  because  they  are  fleeing  away  from  the 
thunder  of  Sinai,  but  because  they  are  allured 
upward  by  the  beauty  of  Calvary. 

Each  must  approach  God  upon  his  own  level. 
The  learned  jurist  is  not  the  same  jurist  to  all 
men.  To  the  criminal  the  jurist  is  fear  and  terror. 
To  the  student  the  jurist  is  wisdom  and  authority. 
To  the  petitioner  the  judge  is  bounty  and  help.  To 
his  children  the  judge  is  a  father,  full  of  helpful 


As  Motives  of  Life  333 

love.  Thus,  he  who  approaches  God  by  his  higher 
faculties  will  find  no  terror  in  God's  brow.  God 
will  be  the  all-clasping  God  of  universal  compas- 
sion and  tenderest  love.  To-day  He  comes  to 
each  —  not  as  one  who  makes  the  mountains 
tremble ;  His  voice  is  not  the  voice  of  thunder ; 
His  searching  eye  is  not  the  lightning.  To  the 
pilgrim  He  comes,  to  be  a  guide  in  darkness  and 
danger.  To  man  chilled  by  life's  cold  He  comes 
for  warmth  and  gladness.  To  man  smitten  by 
life's  fierce  heat  He  comes  "  the  shadow  of  a  great 
rock."  He  comes  to  heal  the  wounded,  forgive 
the  sinful,  save  the  lost.  To  man  falling  in  death 
He  comes  with  divine  arms  to  receive  the  dying 
pilgrim. 

Now  the  vast  number  of  possible  paths  opening 
out  before  man's  feet  renders  his  a  very  difficult 
problem.  His  task  is  not  simple  like  that  of  the 
beaver,  whose  instincts  confine  its  career  to  that 
of  building.  No  eagle  was  ever  left  in  doubt  as  to 
whether  it  was  meant  to  creep  or  walk  or  fly. 
God  ordained  the  instincts  as  divine  handbooks 
for  bird  and  beast.  Each  locomotive  is  guided 
forward  by  its  rails.  The  prepared  track  not  only 
fixes  its  course,  but  carries  the  engine  safely  over 
mountains  and  rivers  and  chasm.  Each  bee 
builds  its  cell  without  waiting  to  learn  the  ten 


334  Fear,  Law,  and  Love 

commandments  of  duty,  or  listen  to  arguments  in 
favor  of  six-sided  cells  as  against  cells  of  four 
sides.  Sometimes  man  seems  like  a  tree  that  can 
at  option  bring  forth  figs  or  grapes,  thorns  or 
thistles.  It  seems  natural,  therefore,  to  expect 
that  man  would  receive  some  indication  as  to 
which  path  was  the  favorite  one  with  the  Creator. 
When  an  inventor  completes  his  mechanism,  he 
accompanies  each  loom  with  a  book  of  directions, 
showing  the  use  of  the  wheel  and  escapement. 
Similarly,  man  wonders  why  each  little  pilgrim 
entering  life  is  not  accompanied  by  a  handbook, 
pointing  out  the  career  in  which  the  little  stranger 
would  achieve  the  most  success.  But,  strange 
enough,  after  a  thousand  years  of  experience  and 
history,  no  one  to-day  can  prove  what  method  of 
living  brings  the  most  excellence  and  happiness. 
We  can  only  say  that  Livingstone  achieves  con- 
tent and  character  dwelling  with  savages ;  that 
Florence  Nightingale  believes  the  true  method  is 
to  toil  for  wounded  prisoners ;  that  Tennyson 
found  his  happiness  in  solitude  and  singing ;  while 
the  multitudes  find  their  pleasure  in  toiling  in 
field  and  forest,  in  building  houses,  and  engines, 
and  cities.  Doubtless  each  method  of  living  has 
its  own  all-sufficient  argument.  In  connection 
with  Adam's  three  sons,  we  are  told  that  there 


As  Motives  of  Life  335 

were  three  rivers  in  paradise,  and  each  man  was 
left  free  to  move  along  the  beautiful  shore  of  that 
stream  that  appealed  most  strongly  to  him.  But 
to-day  God  has  greatly  increased  the  number  and 
beauty  of  life's  enriching  streams.  Each  tempera- 
ment must  select  its  own  path,  knowing  that  the 
divine  way  leads  to  a  land  whose  climate  is  "  ever- 
lasting spring,  whose  air  is  perpetual  music,  whose 
life  is  endless  joy." 


XIV 

Efje  Automatic  3futJCfment  Seat  in  Jlan:  an 
©utlooft  upon  tije  Problem  toijettjer  Cfjetsttc 
lEbolutton  tfjrofos  ang  5Ltg!)t  upon  Cijrist'g 
Fiefo  of  future  Puntsfjment 


'  So  careful  of  the  type? '  but  no. 

From  scarped  cliff  and  quarried  stone 
She  cries,  '  A  thousand  types  are  gone ; 

I  care  for  nothing,  all  shall  go. 

Thou  makest  thine  appeal  to  me ; 
I  bring  to  life,  I  bring  to  death  : 
The  spirit  does  but  mean  the  breath : 

I  know  no  more.'    And  he,  shall  he, 

Man,  her  last  work,  who  seem'd  so  fair, 
Such  splendid  purpose  in  his  eyes, 
Who  roll'd  the  psalm  to  wintry  skies, 

Who  built  him  fanes  of  fruitless  prayer, 

Who  trusted  God  was  love  indeed, 
And  love,  Creation's  final  law,  — 
Tho'  Nature,  red  in  tooth  and  claw 

With  ravin,  shriek'd  against  his  creed,  — 

Who  loved,  who  suffer'd  countless  ills, 
Who  battled  for  the  True,  the  Just. 
Be  blown  about  the  desert  dust, 

Or  seal'd  within  the  iron  hills? 

No  more  ?    A  monster  then,  a  dream, 
A  discord.     Dragons  of  the  prime, 
That  tare  each  other  in  their  slime, 

Were  mellow  music  matched  with  him. 

O  life  as  futile,  then,  as  frail ! 

O  for  thy  voice  to  sooth  and  bless 
What  hope  of  answer,  or  redress  ? 

Behind  the  veil,  behind  the  veil." 

—  TENNYSON,  "In  Memoriam." 


338 


XIV 

THE  AUTOMATIC  JUDGMENT  SEAT  IN  MAN:  AN  OUT- 
LOOK UPON  THE  PROBLEM  WHETHER  THEISTIC 
EVOLUTION  THROWS  ANY  LIGHT  UPON  CHRIST'S 
VIEW  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT 

Fascination  of  the  problem  of  penalties  and  rewards. 
Monica  and  Augustine  gazing  into  the  open  sky  represent  a 
universal  tendency  in  those  who  doubt  and  those  who  believe. 
What  lies  beyond  the  horizon?  Where  are  Socrates,  Paul, 
Nero,  Abraham  Lincoln?  Thoughts  of  the  future  life  have 
fascinated  all  minds.  Assuming  immortality,  does  science 
throw  any  light  upon  the  problem  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments?  Nature  and  the  law  of  growth.  Nature  and 
the  law  of  death.  Adjustment  to  environment.  This  law  big 
with  destiny.  The  law  of  the  conservation  of  energy.  The 
problem  of  keeping  the  soul  that  one's  ancestors  have 
achieved.  The  automatic  judgment  seat  in  man.  Every  day 
a  judgment  day.  This  explains  the  warnings  of  God's  word. 
Nature  of  the  judgment  seat.  Christ's  statements  regarding 
future  penalties  in  the  light  of  evolution.  Edwards  in  the 
light  of  the  new  views.  The  Westminster  Fathers  and  the 
reaction  therefrom.  The  new  views  more  stern  and  rigorous 
than  the  old.  Ours  a  moral  universe.  Sins  are  seeds  holding 
harvests  of  penalty.  Christ  a  Saviour  from  sinning  as  well 
as  from  the  penalties  for  sin.  The  fulness  of  his  redemptive 
work. 

A  MONG  life's  gravest  problems  let  us  include 
**  the  problem  of  the  life  to  come,  with  its 
penalties  and  rewards.  No  other  question  has  so 
fascinated  man,  no  other  problem  is  so  big  with 

339 


340  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

wonder  and  mystery,  and  none  has  so  fully  occu- 
pied the  thought  of  the  common  people  not  less 
than  of  the  poet  and  the  philosopher.  For  when 
man  has  toiled  long  upon  his  tool,  his  law,  his 
friendship,  and  made  ready  for  his  old  age,  it 
remains  for  him  to  become  good  friends  with  the 
past,  with  his  conscience  and  his  God,  and  to  pre- 
pare for  his  admittance  into  that  court  of  universal 
love  into  which  the  good  and  great  of  all  ages 
have  been  gathered.  Perhaps,  after  their  many 
and  long  inquiries,  the  wisest  of  men  can  never 
know  with  certainty  what  is  the  nature  of  the 
future  life,  what  occupations  and  duties  there 
await  man,  but  certain  it  is,  that  nothing  educates 
man  like  the  forecast  of  and  preparation  for  a 
future  that  confessedly  must  remain  unknown. 
All  will  admit  that  no  child  can  know  beforehand 
what  wisdom,  wealth,  and  influence  may  belong  to 
three  score  years  and  ten,  yet  it  is  to  the  last 
degree  important  that  the  boy  should  wonder  and 
dream  as  to  what  manner  of  home  shall  be  his, 
what  tool  or  task  he  shall  take  up ;  whether  glory 
and  honors  shall  await  him  or  poverty  and  neglect 
discourage  his  labors.  And  if  man  in  his  youth 
prepares  for  an  unknown  career  this  side  of  the 
grave,  man  grown  old  and  gray  does  well  also  to 
forecast  that  realm  beyond  the  horizon  where 


In  Man  341 

moral  law  must  also  reign.  If  in  this  life  vices 
and  sins  journey  on  attended  by  harvests  of  un- 
happiness,  perhaps  beyond  the  grave  also  those 
who  love  truth  and  goodness  will  find  the  angels 
of  God  ever  upon  the  wing. 

In  the  old  picture,  Monica  and  Augustine  clasp 
hands  in  the  twilight  and  look  longingly  into  the 
open  sky.  How  comes  it  that  the  stars  do  fix  and 
hold  the  gaze  of  this  gifted  mother  and  son  ?  Are 
they  asking  whether  or  not  those  stars  are  inhab- 
ited ?  Whether  the  people  of  Mars  reap  harvests 
and  build  cities  that  are  homes  of  music,  art,  and 
eloquence  ?  And  whether  in  country  churchyards 
their  poets  write  elegies  full  of  vague  longings  and 
dim  with  tears  ?  Nay  !  Nay !  This  old  picture 
has  its  fascination  because  every  man  identifies 
himself  with  these  upward-looking  ones  who  gaze, 
not  at  the  stars,  but  at  what  is  beyond  them. 
Now  and  then  a  single  mind  may  be  found  that 
doubts  whether  man  survives  the  shock  of  death, 
but  the  multitudes  believe,  and  therefore  ponder, 
dream,  and  wonder  over  the  great  problem  of  the 
hereafter.  In  the  heart  a  thousand  longings  rise 
and  fall  as  some  mountain  stream  rises  and  falls 
after  the  storms  of  summer  and  the  snows  of 
winter. 

Beyond   the  horizon,    what  ?     Those   Athenian 


342  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

judges  sneered  at  Socrates'  plea  for  conscience, 
and  gave  the  sage  the  cup  of  poison.  But  the  old 
Greek  swerved  not  a  hair  from  right,  and  put  out 
to  sea  in  the  boat  of  his  intuitions.  Where,  now, 
is  Socrates  ?  Were  his  hopes  realized  ?  and  have 
his  executioners  ever  regretted  their  act  ?  Paul 
achieved  our  liberty  and  thought.  Nero  hated 
freedom.  Paul  ate  crusts,  wore  rags,  and  slept  in 
a  dungeon.  Nero  wore  purple,  drank  wine  cooled 
with  snow,  and  slept  in  a  silken  palace  chamber. 
Nero's  villany  was  successful.  Paul  was  re- 
warded by  Nero's  headsman.  Has  Paul  ever  had 
any  reward  ?  Has  Nero  come  to  abhor  his  own 
cruelty  ?  Where  is  that  Diocletian  who  hurled 
his  victims  over  the  precipice  ?  What  of  the 
emperor  who  plastered  pitch  over  the  garments  of 
brave  men  and  used  their  flaming  bodies  to  light 
up  his  garden  parties  ?  Where  are  Benedict 
Arnold  and  Wilkes  Booth  ?  Has  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, with  his  face  seamed  with  sorrow,  seen  the 
travail  of  his  soul  and  been  satisfied  ?  Has  Burke 
met  his  gifted  boy  over  whose  coffin  the  states- 
man bowed  in  an  agony  of  grief?  Has  Robert 
Burns  at  last  expelled  the  discord  from  his  song  ? 
Where  is  that  young  girl  who  moaned  :  — 

"My  false  lover  stole  the  rose, 
But,  oh  !  he  left  the  thorn  with  me." 


In  Man  343 

These,  and  questions  like  them,  confront  every 
thoughtful  man.  Why  is  it  that  infidel  and  agnos- 
tic and  secularist,  not  less  than  Christian,  linger 
long  over  these  problems  ?  Is  it  that  these  ques- 
tions allure  men's  thoughts  as  the  candle  allures 
the  moth,  that  it  may  be  consumed?  No,  a  thou- 
sand times  no !  Rather,  the  problem  of  that  im- 
mortal realm  fascinates  man's  thoughts  as  the 
oasis  draws  the  birds  of  paradise  away  from  the 
desert  into  the  realm  of  fields  and  fountains. 
Therefore,  man's  earliest,  latest,  and  profoundest 
thought  has  had  to  do  with  the  outlook  upon  the 
future  career  and  its  rewards  and  penalties.  And 
so  long  as  man  remains  man,  so  long  as  he  has 
reason  and  memory  and  imagination  and  con- 
science, will  the  poet  and  the  common  people  sit 
together  in  life's  open  window,  and  ponder  and 
dream  and  doubt  and  believe  and  weep  for  joy 
over  events  that  shall  be  revealed  when  death 
shall  part  life's  rich  but  opaque  curtains,  when 
"the  day  dawns,  and  the  shadows  flee  away." 

A  prisoner  in  Patmos,  John  looked  out  upon 
Ephesus,  and  beheld  the  city  pouring  forth  greed, 
drunkenness,  and  fiery  passions  like  streams  of 
lurid  lava.  For  this  city  with  its  abominations 
there  was  to  be  a  judgment  day.  In  his  dream 
John  saw  God  on  His  throne  judging  the  Ephe- 


344  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

sians,  who  stood  forth  as  accused  criminals,  while 
outraged  justice  urged  the  condemnation.  The 
scene  was  so  awful  that  the  sun  was  darkened, 
the  moon  ceased  to  shine,  and  the  stars  gave 
forth  no  light.  But  we  must  not  allow  this  rich 
imagery  to  obscure  John's  fundamental  thought. 
In  an  oratorio,  because  the  soloist's  single  voice 
is  not  equal  to  his  sublime  thought,  Handel  asks 
the  full  orchestra,  with  drum  and  trumpet  and 
flute  and  a  score  of  stringed  instruments,  to  lend 
volume  of  sound,  and,  borne  upon  the  tides  of 
melody,  the  single  voice  is  swept  forward.  Not 
otherwise,  John  asks  all  these  thrilling  scenes  in 
nature  to  lend  solemn  accompaniment  to  that 
moment  when  the  soul  with  its  deeds  stands  in 
the  presence  of  its  Judge  and  Maker.  And  his 
central  thought  is  that  there  is  an  automatic 
judgment  seat  in  man,  and  that  when  God  sent 
man  forth  into  the  world  He  sent  him  fully 
equipped  with  reason,  conscience,  and  moral 
sentiment,  and  all  the  machinery  for  reward  and 
penalty;  so  that  every  day  is  a  judgment  day 
and  all  the  machinery  of  justice  is  in  constant 
operation.  Unfortunately,  for  ages  the  scholas- 
tics and  theologians  have  fixed  their  thought 
upon  the  moon  turned  to  blood  and  the  dark- 
ened sun,  and  have  created  an  imaginary  inferno 


In  Man  345 

of  fiery  torment.  Other  men  have  held  them- 
selves well  away  from  any  discussion  or  thought 
on  the  subject.  But  it  must  be  confessed  that 
until  evolution  came  in,  the  data  for  an  adequate 
discussion  of  the  problems  of  future  rewards  and 
penalties  were  lacking.  If  the  old  materialistic 
and  atheistic  form  of  evolution  was  unsatisfac- 
tory, its  theistic  form  has  been  the  key  to  the 
method  of  God  in  nature.  All  the  great  facts 
of  nature  and  life  have  been  restated  in  terms 
of  evolution  as  God's  way  of  creating,  sustaining, 
and  governing  His  universe.  God's  universe  is 
one.  The  law  of  sacrifice,  for  example,  is  vegetable 
law  and  animal  law.  It  is  the  law  of  wisdom,  of 
finance,  and  of  character.  And  so  of  every  law 
of  Christ.  He  touched  the  bottom  and  found 
the  fundamentals.  The  laws  of  evolution  burst 
into  blossom  in  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  physicist,  the  biologist,  the  student  of  force 
and  life  alike,  in  reverent  voice  have  spoken  to 
God  and  said,  "  O  Father,  where  art  Thou  ? " 
And  out  of  rock  and  wave,  out  of  herb  and 
flower,  has  come  a  voice  answering,  "  God  is 
here!"  Sitting  upon  the  circle  of  the  earth,  He 
draws  all  things  upward  in  ever  increasing  cycles 
of  knowledge  and  goodness  and  love. 

Now  our  intellectual  tread  will  be  the  firmer  if 


346  Tbe  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

we  note  what  evolution  has  to  say  as  to  the  laws 
of  life,  growth,  and  continuance  of  any  organism. 
Reduced  to  its  simplest  possible  terms,  science 
tells  us  life  depends  upon  correspondence  with 
environment.  The  stone  is  dead.  It  has  no 
nerve  of  connection  with  air  or  soil.  A  plant 
lives  a  little.  It  has  one  nerve  down  to  the  soil 
and  another  nerve  up  toward  the  sun.  The  lark 
has  more  life.  It  has  mouth  for  food,  feet  for 
walking,  wings  for  the  air,  and  song  toward  its 
fellows.  The  savage  adds  yet  more  life.  He  is 
related  to  soil,  to  seeds,  to  fruits,  to  flocks  and 
herds,  to  fire  and  stone  and  metals.  The  civilized 
man  adds  to  his  life.  He  runs  one  nerve  toward 
the  kingdom  of  beauty,  one  toward  the  kingdom 
of  color,  and  one  toward  the  kingdom  of  truth ; 
while  for  man  in  his  noblest  state  there  are  re- 
lations toward  the  invisible  realm,  where  hope 
and  love  and  conscience  dwell.  Cut  off  any 
nerve  of  relation,  and  to  that  extent  death  has 
taken  place.  Cut  the  root  nerve  of  the  plant, 
and  it  dies. 

But  for  the  bird  death  involves  more.  Remove 
the  wings,  it  still  has  feet.  Remove  the  feet, 
and  it  has  the  mouth  for  food.  But  remove  the 
head,  and  life  is  gone.  Because  man  has  a  thou- 
sand nerves  relating  him  to  the  universe,  death 


In  Man  347 

is  more  difficult.  Cut  the  optic  nerve,  the  king- 
dom of  beauty  goes,  but  man  lives.  Cut  the 
nerves  of  hearing,  also,  and  of  speaking,  man 
still  continues  his  life.  Cut  the  nerve  of  con- 
science and  friendship,  and  the  moral  realm 
goes.  Many  men  who  are  alive  physically  have 
been  dead  for  twenty  years  toward  the  kingdom 
of  love  and  conscience.  Cut  the  nerve  of  mem- 
ory and  intellect,  and  the  body  still  lives.  Cut 
off  hands  and  feet,  the  pulse  still  thrives.  But 
touch  the  heart  —  life  is  gone.  In  man,  there- 
fore, the  measure  of  life  is  the  measure  of  rela- 
tion and  correspondence.  Obedience  to  the  laws 
of  exercise  and  nutrition  for  strengthening  the 
nerves  of  correspondence  increases  the  life. 
Contrariwise,  disobedience  to  these  means  death. 
This  is  natural  law.  Tears  will  not  change  it ; 
groans  and  shrieks  will  not  interrupt  it.  God's 
world  is  one  world.  The  laws  that  reign  to-day 
will  rule  to-morrow  and  to-morrow's  morrow. 
And  this  law  is  big  with  destiny. 

But  evolution  makes  much  of  another  law  — 
the  law  of  the  conservation  of  energy.  A  natural 
law  is  God's  thought  organized,  and  these  laws 
think  and  work  for  God  and  under  Him.  In 
accordance  with  this  principle,  God  governs  rocks 
by  force,  animals  by  fear,  savage  men  by  self- 


348  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

interest,  good  men  by  reason,  the  best  men  by  love. 
The  law  in  the  lowest  realm  is  the  law  of  force. 
The  weak  go  to  the  wall,  the  strong  survive.  But 
as  man  approaches  the  realm  where  God  dwells 
he  finds  this  law  reversed.  In  the  low  animal 
stage,  the  weak  perish,  and  strength  survives  and 
multiplies.  But  when  the  savage  mother  identifies 
her  babe  with  herself  for  reason  of  self-interest, 
she  wishes  every  part  of  herself  to  survive,  and 
so  lifts  the  shield  to  protect  her  babe.  In  hours 
of  cold  and  rain  she  makes  her  body  a  shield 
above  the  child.  Soon  the  babe  in  its  weakness 
survives,  and  the  strong  mother  perishes.  But 
when  men  saw  that  this  was,  after  all,  a  form 
of  progress,  then  all  fathers  and  mothers,  named 
the  state,  made  a  law  to  preserve,  not  simply 
-babes,  but  also  the  slave,  serf,  and  debtor.  A 
law  was  made  to  give  the  slave  his  freedom  after 
seven  years.  So  he  survived.  A  law  was  made 
forbidding  the  creditor  to  take  the  sleeping 
blanket  from  the  debtor,  or  to  take  his  spade 
or  sickle  when  these  were  his  only  means  of  life. 
At  length  the  state  lifted  the  shield  above  the 
blind,  the  deaf,  the  aged,  and  weakness  survived 
more  and  more.  Finally  Christ  came,  and  His 
law  of  self-sacrifice,  declaring  that  the  law  of  force 
never  blossoms  until  the  strong  perish  that  the 


In  Man  349 

weak  may  survive.  From  that  day  the  teacher 
began  to  die  that  his  ignorant  pupil  might  live ; 
the  reformer  and  leader  perished  that  the  multi- 
tudes might  survive.  Our  great  reformers  died 
that  the  slaves  might  live  in  freedom  and  happi- 
ness, while  the  great  novelists  and  poets,  the 
great  orators  and  discoverers  and  heroes  to-day, 
give  themselves  for  Christ's  poor  and  weak.  In 
all  these  events  the  law  of  the  conservation  of 
energy  reigns.  Only  force  has  changed  its  form. 
And  this  law  must  be  kept  in  mind  as  we  pursue 
our  study  of  the  day  of  judgment  that  must  come 
for  all  men. 

Third :  evolution  has  also  thrown  light  upon 
the  development  of  conscience  and  the  growth  of 
moral  ideas.  Early  in  his  history  man  discovered 
that  theft  discouraged  industry  and  thrift,  and 
favored  idleness.  One  man  refused  to  plough 
during  long  summer  days,  for  a  single  hour  of 
theft  by  night  achieved  the  fruits  of  his  neigh- 
bor's labor.  Soon  stealing  was  found  to  be  an 
axe  laid  at  the  roots  of  the  vineyard  and  orchard. 
In  the  interest  of  trade,  therefore,  men  came  to- 
gether and  made  laws  prohibiting  theft  —  a  law 
formally  recognized  in  the  Mosaic  code.  And 
in  like  manner,  the  other  moral  principles  were 
developed,  and  registered  in  codes  and  constitu- 


350  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

tions.  But  in  Jesus  Christ  the  negative  laws, 
"Thou  shalt  not  steal,  thou  shalt  not  kill,  thou 
shalt  not  bear  false  witness,"  blossomed  into  the 
great  positive  moralities,  thou  shalt  love,  thou 
shalt  hope,  thou  shalt  trust.  The  distance  trav- 
ersed by  society  between  the  age  of  Moses  and 
the  age  of  Christ  is  like  unto  the  flight  through 
space  accomplished  by  our  earth  in  journeying 
from  fire-mist  to  habitable  earth. 

With  these  principles  in  mind,  what  has  Chris- 
tianity to  say  of  the  future  life,  and  its  penalties 
and  rewards  ?  First,  life's  great  problem  is  to 
keep  the  soul  that  has  been  achieved  for  you  by 
your  ancestors  and  by  your  God.  This  is  Christ's 
question,  "What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ? "  The 
problem  of  the  bad  man  is :  Given  a  body  fear- 
fully and  wonderfully  made ;  given  a  soul  fully 
equipped  with  faculties,  rational,  affectional,  and 
moral ;  given  nerves  running  out  into  the  earth 
beneath  and  the  heavens  above,  how  shall  I, 
through  sin,  most  quickly  cut  the  nerve  toward 
truth,  and  the  nerve  toward  beauty,  and  the  nerve 
toward  friendship,  and  the  nerve  toward  Christ 
and  God,  until  I  stand  alone,  without  a  single 
nerve  of  relation  —  a  mere  lump  of  flesh,  as  truly 
dead  as  a  stone  that  has  no  nerve  toward  soil  or 
sun  ? 


In  Man  351 

And  the  problem  of  the  good  man  is  this : 
Given  a  soul,  no  matter  from  whence  it  came, 
that  now  seems  of  the  image  of  God,  how  shall 
I  exercise  and  strengthen  the  nerve  of  reason 
toward  truth,  the  nerve  of  memory  toward  a 
noble  past,  the  nerve  of  hope  toward  a  great 
future,  the  nerve  of  inspiration  toward  the  immor- 
tal life,  so  that  I  shall  be  immortal  through  faith 
and  love  toward  God  and  Christ  with  whom  I  am 
in  communion  ?  For  we  must  remember  that 
God's  universe  is  one  and  moral ;  that  existence 
is  a  struggle ;  that  the  spiritually  weak  must  go 
to  the  wall ;  that  only  the  spiritually  strong  shall 
survive.  Existence  is  a  victory  after  a  fierce  fight. 
He  who  yields  to  temptation  has  unconsciously 
sounded  the  retreat.  Worldliness  will  take  the 
strenuousness  out  of  the  will,  and  leave  it  flabby. 
Indifference  will  lead  to  atrophy  of  the  religious 
faculty  as  truly  as  neglect  of  his  music,  in  Dar- 
win's experience,  finally  cut  the  nerve  of  melody. 
Self-indulgence  will  consume  the  conscience  as 
rust  the  sword.  There  are  multitudes  who  are 
leaders  in  the  world  to-day  whose  splendid  gifts 
have  been  achieved  for  them  by  their  ancestors, 
and  who  are  laying  out  their  lives  on  the  principle, 
How  little  can  I  do  for  my  higher  spiritual  life  and 
for  Christ's  little  ones  ;  for  my  Saviour  and  King  ? 


352  Tl)e  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

Unconsciously  they  are  wasting  all  the  spiritual 
treasure  their  ancestors  have  achieved.  They  are 
like  men  who  have  fallen  heir  to  a  father's  fortune 
and  who  now  say,  "  How  can  I  dissipate  this  treas- 
ure, and  escape  with  only  one  or  two  hours  a  week 
for  industry  and  business  ?  "  If  men  only  under- 
stood this  law  of  the  spiritual  harvest ;  if  they  had 
any  comprehension  of  the  grip  of  the  great  natural 
forces  that  are  sweeping  them  forward ;  if  many 
of  our  scholars,  merchants,  and  financiers  under- 
stood that  they  were  slowly  reducing  themselves 
to  the  level  of  the  oyster,  in  the  scale  of  futurity, 
they  would  reverse  the  method  of  life,  grudge 
every  moment  that  they  give  to  the  body,  to  self- 
ish pleasures,  to  indulgent  desires,  and  hoard  all 
the  hours  of  each  day  for  service  to  Christ's  poor, 
or  self-sacrifice,  for  brooding  upon  the  kingdom  of 
truth,  in  art  or  history  or  science  or  literature, 
upon  the  kingdom  of  service  and  sacrifice  and 
sympathy.  Oh  !  if  men  were  not  blinded  by  their 
self-indulgence,  they  would  see  God's  angels  stand- 
ing upon  the  horizon,  and  lifting  the  trumpet  and 
crying,  "  Beware  !  Beware  !  What  shall  it  profit 
a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his 
own  soul  ? "  Battle  for  thy  immortality.  This  is 
nature's  message  as  well  as  Christ's. 

Christianity  also    unveils   an   automatic    judg- 


In  Man  353 

ment  seat  in  man.  It  is  as  if  when  God  would 
send  forth  man,  He  called  His  earthly  child 
before  His  throne,  and  equipped  him  with  in- 
struments of  defence  and  offence  against  the 
perils  and  temptations  of  life.  And  lest  man 
should  become  careless  because  the  judgment 
day  was  postponed  until  after  death,  God  set  up 
within  the  soul  all  the  machinery  for  daily  visit- 
ing rewards  and  penalties  upon  the  earthly  pil- 
grim. Go  where  man  will,  he  always  carries 
with  him  the  full  court  of  justice.  Every  day, 
also,  is  a  judgment  day.  Every  night  conscience 
ascends  her  throne.  The  soul  stands  forth  as 
one  accused.  Memory  offers  the  testimony. 
Reason  interprets  the  law.  Judgment  gives  its 
decision.  And  when  conscience  hath  sent  the 
soul  to  the  left,  she  waves  her  flaming  sword 
and  stands  at  the  gate  of  the  lost  paradise.  Con- 
trariwise, he  who  does  right  and  obeys  the  will 
of  God — "giving  a  cup  of  cold  water  only  to  one 
of  Christ's  little  ones  —  for  him  the  reward  is 
not  postponed  until  a  far-off  judgment  day.  For 
those  who  have  eyes  to  see,  God's  angels  are 
ever  on  the  wing,  bringing  Christ's  rewards. 
And  but  for  this  automatic  judgment  seat  in 
man  the  soul  would  be  like  a  child  shipwrecked 
into  existence  at  Sandy  Hook  and  left,  without 

2A 


354  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

guide  or  handbook,  to  find  its  way  through  for- 
ests, over  plain  and  desert  and  mountain,  with- 
out guide,  without  friend  or  succor,  toward  the 
setting  sun  of  California.  But  the  soul  is  like 
one  of  the  ocean  liners.  The  great  steamer 
carries  instruments  of  self-propulsion,  self-guid- 
ance, and  self-support.  It  hath  eyes  that  it  may 
see  in  darkness.  It  hath  compass  that  discerns 
the  stars  concealed  by  fog.  It  drifts  not,  but,  — 

"  Behind  the  cold  dark  steel  where  stubborn  billows  part, 
In  low,  tumultuous  thunder  throbs  a  fiery  heart." 

And  thus  equipped,  even  if  the  soul  should 
never  return  to  its  Maker,  for  every  man,  daily, 
the  hour  of  judgment  is  fully  come  through  the 
automatic  judgment  seat  in  man  that  John  fore- 
saw with  all  its  accompaniments  of  darkened 
sun,  reeling  stars,  and  falling  worlds. 

Now  this  automatic  judgment  also  explains  the 
awful  warnings  of  God's  word.  What  terror  and 
alarm  in  this  divine  book !  What  separations 
and  descriptions  that  blanch  the  stoutest  heart ! 
Listen !  "  Because  I  called  and  ye  refused,  I 
stretched  out  my  hand  and  no  man  regarded ; 
therefore  I  will  laugh  at  your  calamity ;  I  will 
mock  when  your  fear  cometh,  when  fear  cometh 
as  desolation,  and  destruction  as  a  whirlwind." 


In  Man  355 

Misunderstanding,  for  centuries  men  have  been 
thinking  this  was  the  voice  of  God  speaking. 
From  this  Scripture  Dante  and  Milton  created 
their  pictures  of  lurid,  fiery  torment.  But  the 
voice  of  warning  comes  from  the  throne  in  man, 
and  not  from  the  throne  of  God.  It  is  the  voice 
of  Nature.  Proverbs  is  the  book  of  Wisdom. 
Wisdom  is  here  personified  and  speaks  to  us. 
The  glutton  lives  for  stalled  ox  and  highly  sea- 
soned foods.  The  drunkard  lives  for  fiery  stimu- 
lants and  spiced  wines.  The  lecherous  man 
lives  for  pleasure,  and  his  kiss  of  passion  sets  a 
blister  on  a  forehead  that  hitherto  was  white. 
And  when  this  evil  life  has  been  persisted  in, 
Nature  ascends  her  judgment  seat. 

The  brain  exclaims,  "  I  have  called  to  you,  O  ye 
gluttons,  and  ye  refused!"  The  exhausted  nerve 
exclaims,  "  I  have  stretched  out  my  hands,  O  ye 
drunkards,  and  no  man  regarded  it ! "  And  the 
weakened  heart  cries  out :  "  Ye  would  none  of 
my  counsel ;  ye  mocked  my  reproof,  and  now 
I,"  the  injured  brain,  or  nerve,  or  stomach  ex- 
claims, "  will  laugh  at  your  calamity ;  I  will 
mock  at  your  desolation.  When  the  agonies  of 
sciatica  and  dyspepsia  and  all  forms  of  physical 
anguish  shall  desolate  your  life,  ye  shall  eat 
the  fruit  of  your  own  devices."  It  is  the  voice 


356  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

of  physiology.  It  is  the  voice  of  nerve  and  brain. 
If  the  scholastic  theologians  once  substituted 
God  for  nature,  to-day  there  is  no  scholar  but 
understands  that  the  Book  of  Proverbs  repre- 
sents nature  and  wisdom  warning  man.  And 
though  the  wrong-doer,  when  it  is  too  late,  pours 
forth  his  tears,  though  he  send  forth  prayers 
and  exceeding  bitter  cries,  the  laws  of  God  will 
move  on.  Nothing  can  stay  the  penalties.  "  He 
that  sows  to  the  flesh  shall  of  the  flesh  reap 
corruption."  "Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that 
shall  he  reap."  This  is  natural  law.  This  is 
true  to-day  and  to-morrow.  This  law  also  fore- 
tells destiny. 

But  these  rigorous  penalties  of  nature  that  fill 
a  man  with  an  earthquake  of  terror  are,  when 
analyzed,  forms  of  loving  kindness  and  tender 
mercy.  Let  no  man  think  these  natural  penal- 
ties the  strokes  of  an  angry  and  iron  God.  They 
are  not  forms  of  an  outraged  justice.  Did  men 
but  know  it,  the  penalties  of  transgression  are 
inflections  of  pity  and  kindness.  How  griev- 
ously do  men  err  in  thinking  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments are  barriers  fencing  off  sweet  and 
delicious  fruits  of  sin !  In  mountains  there  are 
chasms  to  be  crossed.  And  over  the  gorge  the 
ruler  springs  a  bridge  for  herds  and  flocks  and 


In  Man  357 

peasants  and  the  little  children ;  and  lest  some 
little  one  fall  from  the  bridge  and  be  dashed  in 
pieces,  on  either  side  of  the  bridge  are  railings 
to  keep  the  thoughtless  ones  from  climbing  into 
places  of  peril.  And  shall  men  rebel  against 
the  railings  as  cutting  off  liberty  ?  What  Jf  a 
father  should  set  his  child's  feet  in  a  path 
through  a  dangerous  forest  ?  And  what  if  on 
either  side  of  the  path  he  plants  a  thorn  hedge 
with  sharp  briers  and  brambles  ?  If  the  child, 
forgetting  safety,  would  plunge  into  the  forest 
to  pluck  some  flower  or  be  poisoned  by  the  ser- 
pent or  scorpion,  or  when  he  would  wander  into 
some  dangerous  quicksand  or  bog  or  slough, 
then  the  thorn  hedge  is  there  to  scourge  him 
back  into  the  way  of  safety. 

And  who  shall  say  that  these  stinging  thorns 
are  not  as  truly  forms  of  kindness  as  the  smooth 
pathway  gay  with  flowers  and  bright  with  glow 
of  clustered  food  ?  For  God's  laws  are  barriers 
against  self-destruction  and  death.  Nature's  pen- 
alties are  medicinal.  Her  pains  are  curative.  And 
so  far  from  God's  laws  taking  away  man's  liberty, 
they  increase  freedom.  Disobedience  is  slavery. 
Disobey  the  law  of  fire,  and  man  is  burned.  Con- 
trariwise, obedience  to  the  laws  of  thinking  makes 
man  a  writer ;  obey  the  law  of  eloquence,  and  man 


358  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

is  an  orator ;  obey  the  law  of  color,  and  man  is  an 
artist ;  obey  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  God,  and 
man  stands  forth  of  goodness  all  compact  —  the 
child  of  character,  happiness,  and  influence.  For 
nature's  penalties  and  God's  punishments  repre- 
sent not  the  anger  of  a  judge,  but  the  medicinal 
love  of  a  Father  and  a  Friend,  who  will  not  break 
the  bruised  reed,  but  who  will  bring  judgment 
unto  victory. 

When  we  read  Christ's  statements  regarding 
future  penalties  and  rewards  and  interpret  them  in 
the  light  of  evolution,  how  fragmentary  seem  the 
old  teachings.  Here  is  the  "  Inferno  "  of  Dante 
and  the  "  Last  Judgment "  of  Michael  Angelo. 
Passing  over  all  other  teachings  of  the  Bible, 
they  select  the  drapery  and  imagery  of  Christ 
and  John,  and  adding  the  Jewish  stories  about 
the  burning  flames  of  Sodom,  they  picture  forth 
a  coming  abyss  of  flame.  Hell  is  a  huge  caldron 
of  fire.  Billows  of  flame  rise  and  fall.  Lost 
spirits  in  their  agony  drift  on  the  waves,  and 
through  the  flame  stretch  imploring  hands  toward 
horned  devils,  who  with  pitchforks  push  the  tor- 
mented back  into  their  abyss.  Christ  stands 
forth  a  superb  athlete,  a  glorified  Achilles  exult- 
ing in  His  power,  to  avenge  Himself  upon  the 
transgressors  of  His  law.  But  every  teaching 


In  Man  359 

of  Christ  is  outraged  and  destroyed  by  Dante 
and  Michael  Angelo.  They  mistook  the  drapery 
for  the  principle  draped.  In  orchestral  music 
the  leader  includes  the  bass  drum.  This  great 
instrument  skips  most  of  the  notes,  and  then 
comes  to  lend  volume  to  preexisting  sound. 
Now  what  if  some  foolish  man  should  stop  the 
soloist,  silence  the  great  chorus,  silence  all  the 
violins,  the  cornets,  the  flutes,  and  ask  the  audi- 
ence to  listen  to  the  drum  ?  Can  this  drum 
interpret  Handel's  theme  ?  And  in  Dante  and 
Milton's  picture  of  the  Inferno,  the  ten  thou- 
sand voices  of  God  and  Christ  and  nature  are 
asked  to  become  silent,  while  the  bass  drum 
sounds  and  interprets  the  great  theme  called 
the  permanence  of  character ! 

Not  the  falling  stars  and  the  darkened  sun 
give  solemnity  to  the  hour  when  the  soul  gives 
account  unto  God,  but  rather  the  fact  that  what 
a  man  sows,  that  shall  he  reap,  like  producing 
like  in  the  kingdom  of  character. 

Later  on,  Jonathan  Edwards  and  the  Calvin- 
istic  theologians  came  forward  with  their  partial 
conceptions.  They  took  the  words  of  Solomon, 
where  brain  and  nerve  and  stomach  speak,  say- 
ing to  the  glutton  and  the  drunkard,  "  I  will 
laugh  at  your  calamity,  I  will  mock  when  your 


360  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

fear  cometh,"  and  constructed  a  form  of  future 
punishment  therefrom.  Adam  and  Eve  repre- 
sented the  race.  For  their  sin  all  mankind  were 
doomed  to  eternal  punishment ;  Christ  came  in 
with  a  lifeboat  to  save  a  few  of  the  lost  wretches ; 
as  Edwards  said  :  "  The  bigger  part  of  men  who 
have  died  heretofore  have  gone  to  hell ;  the  whole 
heathen  world  is  hopelessly  doomed ;  against  the 
non-elect  the  wrath  of  God  is-  burning,  the  fur- 
nace hot,  the  flames  rage  and  glow,  the  devils 
are  awaiting  for  their  coming  like  lions  restrained 
and  greedy  for  their  prey."  On  one  page  Ed- 
wards says :  "  God  holds  the  unconverted  over 
the  pit  of  hell,  much  as  one  holds  a  spider  or 
a  loathsome  insect  over  the  fire,"  "and  from 
time  to  time  the  generations  in  darkened  lands, 
without  temple,  without  Bible,  without  religious 
teacher,  are  swept  into  the  future  as  the  house- 
wife lifts  the  lids  from  the  glowing  coals  and 
sweeps  flies  into  the  flames."  And  to-day  one 
of  our  greatest  denominations  still  includes  that 
tremendous  statement  in  its  confession  of  faith, 
saying  that  certain  men  and  angels  are  fore- 
ordained to  everlasting  death,  these  persons  so 
doomed,  being  "particularly  and  unchangeably 
designed,  and  their  number  is  so  certain  and 
definite  that  it  cannot  be  either  increased  or 
diminished." 


In  Man  36! 

In  his  commentary  on  the  "Confession  of 
Faith "  (a  text  and  reference  book  used  to-day 
in  several  theological  seminaries),  the  late  Dr. 
Archibald  Hodge,  Professor  of  Theology  in 
Princeton  Seminary,  states  with  great  detail  the 
reasons  why  he  believes  and  teaches  reprobation. 
Thus  far  every  attempt  to  revise  and  expel  that 
statement  from  the  creed  has  been  successfully 
combated  by  a  majority  that  wishes  to  retain 
the  doctrine.  It  would  seem  that  if  men  be- 
lieved in  reprobation  reason  would  be  shaken  to 
its  foundation.  Fortunately,  preachers  are  asked 
to  accept  the  "Confession"  "for  system  of  doc- 
trine "  only.  Incredible  that  any  man  can  charge 
such  infinite  cruelty  upon  the  all-merciful  and  all- 
loving  God !  The  day  the  scholastics  wrote  that 
chapter  in  the  "Confession  of  Faith"  they  got 
the  devil  confused  with  God.  What !  read  the 
story  of  Christ's  life,  love,  suffering,  and  death, 
and  then  charge  God  with  "particularly  and 
unchangeably  designing"  the  majority  of  His 
children  to  eternal  torment  ?  The  Bible  says, 
"Whosoever  will  may  come";  the  "Confession 
of  Faith "  says,  "  Certain  men  and  angels  are 
fore-ordained  to  everlasting  death."  But  of  the 
Westminster  divines  Paul's  word  holds,  "Let  God 
be  true  and  every  man  a  liar."  What  epithet 


362  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

would  one  not  hurl  toward  that  stainless  throne, 
where  sits  the  world's  atoning  Saviour,  rather 
than  lift  that  creed  toward  God's  throne  and 
affirm  this  doctrine  for  the  elect  few,  and  deny 
God's  wide,  free  mercy  involved  in  "whosoever 
will  may  come"  ?  For  the  man  who  does  believe 
in  reprobation  the  hour  of  judgment  has  now 
come.  His  sun  is  already  darkened ;  his  moon 
is  turned  to  blood ;  his  stars  have  refused  to  give 
their  light.  But,  for  the  common  people,  driven 
toward  utter  denial  and  atheism  by  such  false 
theology,  there  has  risen  the  light  of  science  to 
reconcile  contradictions,  to  enforce  righteousness, 
to  convict  of  sin,  and  to  recover  men  unto  belief 
and  love  for  God  revealed  in  our  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ. 

If  science,  with  its  new  emphasis  of  the  perma- 
nence of  character,  has  taken  away  the  dreams 
of  Dante  and  Milton,  it  has  substituted  reali- 
ties that  are  a  thousand  fold  more  impressive, 
stern,  and  rigorous.  Equipped  with  this  auto- 
matic judgment  seat,  knitted  in  by  ties  of  friend- 
ship and  association  with  our  fellows,  responsible 
for  influence,  how  solemn  the  thought  of  that 
coming  judgment  day !  Dante  and  Edwards  and 
the  Westminster  divines  only  skimmed  the  sur- 
face of  nature's  dark  flood  over  which  the  mariner 


In  Man  363 

sails.  Ours  is  a  moral  universe.  It  is  keyed  to 
righteousness,  and  not  happiness.  Dream  be- 
comes thought ;  thought  becomes  habit ;  habit 
becomes  character ;  character  becomes  destiny,  J 
says  the  proverb.  Conscience  never  takes  a  vaca- 
tion. The  moral  faculty  is  a  judge  ever  on  the 
bench.  Every  hour  the  testimony  comes  in. 
The  laws  of  God  hem  man  in  on  every  side. 
God  never  slumbers  nor  sleeps.  Many  there  are 
who  dare  not  trust  themselves  out  under  the 
skies  that  seem  to  blaze  against  them.  For  them 
the  heavens  are  brass.  For  them  the  earth  is 
iron  and  ashes.  And  for  these  broken  hearts 
and  wrecked  lives  is  there  no  place  of  recovery  ? 
What  is  death  ?  In  youth  the  physical  forces 
that  build  up  the  tissues  are  strong,  and  the 
forces  that  tear  down  the  tissues  are  weak.  In 
extreme  old  age  the  conditions  are  reversed,  and 
the  forces  that  tear  down  the  tissues  are  strong, 
and  the  forces  that  build  up  are  weak.  Soon 
death  comes.  And  what  if  the  forces  of  selfish- 
ness and  sin  in  the  soul  are  stronger  than  the 
forces  of  righteousness  ?  Is  this  the  second 
death  ?  If  so,  is  there  no  helper,  no  new  force 
from  without  that  can  be  invoked,  no  Saviour 
that  can  stay  the  encroachments  of  the  sins  that 
tear  down  the  soul  ?  No  Deliverer  that  can  pour 


364  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

in  the  tides  of  life  until  that  which  builds  up  is 
in  excess  of  that  which  destroys  ?  No  mariner 
on  a  dark  and  stormy  night,  expecting  every 
moment  to  be  engulfed  in  the  yeasty  sea,  ever 
strained  his  eyes  toward  the  light  guiding  his 
little  craft  into  the  harbor,  as  in  sailing  o'er  life's 
troubled  sea  men,  heartbroken,  look  for  the  rising 
of  a  star  of  hope  and  guidance. 
*/\.nd  when  we  see  Christ  stretching  pitying 
hands  toward  the  publican  and  whispering,  "There 
is  joy  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth"  ; 
when  we  see  His  tenderness  toward  that  weeping 
girl,  concealing  her  tragedy  as  she  wets  Christ's 
feet  with  her  tears  and  wipes  them  with  her 
hair ;  when  we  behold  Christ's  mercy  toward  Saul 
slaying  Stephen,  and  then  Himself  assuming  the 
responsibility  of  Saul's  sin,  raising  up  a  new 
leader  in  Stephen's  place,  and  so  bearing  and 
atoning  for  Saul's  transgressions,  and  then  going 
on  to  meet  Saul  in  a  vision  hour,  when  through 
His  Spirit  He  transforms  Saul  into  Paul  —  then 
we  understand  what  glorious  deliverance  Christ 
brings  to  each  wicked  courtier  like  Francis 
Xavier,  to  the  tinker,  John  Bunyan,  to  the  crimi- 
nal, Jean  Valjean.  God  is  very  tender.  His  heart 
is  full  of  tears.  He  goes  weeping  up  the  hills 
of  time.  And  men  are  the  prodigals.  Our  sins 


In  Man  365 

have  broken  His  heart  !-  But  in  nature  God 
makes  judgment  become  victory.  If  the  withered 
rose  petal  falls  burned  before  the  scorching  heat, 
it  enters  the  root,  and  rising  lends  a  deeper 
crimson  to  the  new  opening  bud.  Out  of  the 
black  slough  the  lily  whitens.  O'er  decaying  logs 
the  wild  flower  springs.  E'en  on  gravestones  the 
moss  grows  green.  And  sometime,  somewhere, 
God's  love  in  Jesus  Christ  will  turn  man's  mis- 
takes and  sins,  when  repented  of,  into  forces  that 
spring  the  soul  the  farther  toward  righteousness. 
Could  then  personified  Wisdom  again  return  to 
earth  and  speak  to  men  as  to  familiar  friends, 
would  not  these  be  her  words  ? 

"  Oh  !  ye  that  stand  leaning  over  life's  brink,  and 
dropping  your  plummet  of  imagination  and  philos- 
ophy down  into  the  abyss  of  darkness  and  futurity  ; 
all  ye  whose  life  has  become  a  ruin,  its  days 
bitterness  and  its  nights  despair;  ye  who  for  years 
have  been  listening  to  the  siren's  voice,  not  think- 
ing it  was  as  foolish  to  deny  without  adequate 
reason  as  to  affirm  without  sufficient  argument ; 
ye  who  have  drifted  until  selfishness  and  indul- 
gence have  left  their  slime  upon  the  soul  ;  to 
whose  character  envy  and  hate  have  lent  poison, 
v/hose  greed  and  indulgence  have  brought  spot  and 
stain  !  For  you  no  prophet  need  stand  upon  the 


366  The  Automatic  Judgment  Seat 

horizon  with  trumpet  proclaiming  fear  and  alarm ! 
For  you  the  sting  of  death  is  sin.  Why  will  ye 
die,  ye  sons  of  folly,  ye  daughters  of  blindness  ?  If 
in  the  hour  when  you  forecast  that  judgment  day, 
you  shrink  from  the  very  thought  of  your  insin- 
cerities, your  indulgences,  your  enmities,  your 
evasions  of  honor ;  if  in  that  hour  of  shame,  to 
escape  the  sorrowing  eyes  you  would  fain  call 
upon  the  rocks  and  mountains  to  fall  upon  you  and 
hide  you  from  the  face  of  men  and  angels,  then 
know  that  there  is  a  Deliverer  !  With  confidence 
that  is  absolute,  and  with  certainty  that  is  un- 
yielding and  immovable  I  point  you  to  Jesus 
Christ." 

What  bread  is  to  starving  pilgrims,  what  cool 
springs  are  to  weary  travellers,  what  the  all- 
glorious  sun  is  to  the  one  watching  in  the  night 
for  the  coming  day  ;  that,  and  ten  thousand  times 
more,  Christ  will  be  to  thy  life.  He  will  stay  the 
tides  of  sin  that  work  toward  death.  He  will  pour 
in  the  tides  that  make  toward  life  and  immortality. 
He  will  feed  the  nerves  that  relate  thee  toward  the 
kingdoms  of  truth  and  beauty,  toward  the  kingdoms 
of  hope  and  love,  and  toward  the  realm  of  immor- 
tality. Because  God  and  Christ  live,  ye  shall  live 
also.  But  should  you  choose  disobedience,  until 
by  neglect  and  disuse  the  great  nerves  that  relate 


In  Man  367 

you  to  immortal  realms  are  atrophied  and  die  just 
as  the  physical  nerves  die  in  the  fleshly  system, 
then  shall  the  eyes  of  the  all-loving  Saviour 
become  dreadful  to  thee.  "  For  God  shall  bring 
every  work  into  judgment,  with  every  secret 
thing.  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust 
of  the  earth  shall  wake,  some  to  everlasting  life, 
and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt. 
But  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness 
of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to 
righteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and  forever." 


XV 

Cfjurdj :  it*  Problems  antr  Claims  upon 
American 


"  Many  of  these  churches  were  far  larger  than  the  ancient 
temples ;  and  if  their  architecture  had  not  the  stately  and 
simple  dignity  of  the  Doric  fane,  they  were  far  richer  in  varied 
works  of  art,  more  gorgeous  in  color,  and  infinitely  more 
charged  with  religious  and  aesthetic  impression.  Painting, 
fresco,  mosaic,  stained  glass,  gilding,  carved  statues,  colored 
marbles,  images,  and  reliefs  in  thousands,  chased  gold  and 
silver  utensils,  bronzes,  ivories,  silks,  velvets,  tapestries, 
embroideries,  illuminated  books,  carved  wood,  bells,  clocks, 
perfumes,  organs,  instruments,  choirs  of  singers  —  every 
beautiful  and  delightful  thing  was  crowded  together,  with  the 
relics  cf  saints,  the  tombs  of  great  men,  the  graves  of  citizens 
for  centuries." 

"  So  too  the  Church  was  morally  a  far  nobler  thing  than 
the  Temple.  It  was  no  mere  colonnade  for  processions, 
lounging,  and  society.  It  was  this,  but  much  more  also.  It 
was  school,  art-museum,  music-hall,  place  of  personal  prayer, 
of  confession  of  sin,  preaching,  teaching,  and  civilizing.  It 
combined  what  at  Athens  was  to  be  sought  in  Parthenon, 
Theseum,  Theatre,  Academus,  Stoa,  and  Agora  —  and  very 
much  beside  which  was  never  known  at  Athens  at  all  —  sacra- 
ment, confession,  penance,  sermon." 

"  Christ  loved  the  weak  and  the  suffering.  And  the  doors 
of  His  house  stood  ever  open  to  the  weak,  the  suffering,  the 
halt,  the  blind,  and  the  lame.  The  church  of  the  Middle 
Ages  suffered  little  children  to  come  unto  Him.  The  poorest, 
the  weakest,  the  most  abject,  were  welcome  there.  The 
Priest,  the  Monk,  the  Nun,  taught,  clothed,  and  nursed  the 
children  of  the  poor,  and  the  suffering  poor.  The  leper  was 
tended  in  lazar-houses,  even  it  might  be  by  kings  and  prin- 
cesses, with  the  devotion  of  Christian  self-sacrifice.  For  the 
first  time  in  history  there  were  schools,  hospitals,  poor-houses, 
for  the  most  lowly,  compassion  for  the  most  miserable,  and 
consolation  in  Heaven  for  those  who  had  found  earth  a  Hell." 
—  FREDERIC  HARRISON,  "The  Meaning  of  History," 
pp.  235,  236,  and  237. 

37° 


XV 

THE    CHURCH:    ITS    PROBLEMS    AND    CLAIMS    UPON 
AMERICAN  SOCIETY 

The  first  things  of  the  world  physical  and  mental,  and  the 
fascination  of  their  story.  The  dawn  of  history  and  the  be- 
ginnings of  social  institutions.  The  story  of  the  first  infant 
church,  and  how  its  influence  waxed.  The  enthusiasm  of  the 
poor  for  the  new  Christian  institution,  and  the  final  devotion 
of  the  rich.  Churches  and  cathedrals  become  treasure  houses 
for  assembling  all  things  rare  and  beautiful.  Macaulay  found 
the  spring  of  social  progress  in  the  Christian  church.  Every 
thirty-three  years  death  destroys  all  disciples,  and  the  church 
must  conquer  the  devotion  of  a  new  generation.  Society's 
interest  in  the  church  to-day  not  universal,  and  the  reasons 
therefor.  The  claims  of  the  church  by  reason  of  its  influence 
upon  social  institutions.  The  claims  of  the  church  by  reason 
of  its  emphasis  of  individual  worth  and  culture.  The  social 
problem  at  bottom  a  moral  problem,  to  be  solved  by  the  dif- 
fusion of  intelligence  and  the  spirit  of  obedience  to  law.  The 
strife  between  the  idle  poor  and  the  idle  rich,  and  the  attempt 
to  stir  up  hatred  between  the  industrious  poor  and  the  indus- 
trious rich.  The  difficulty  springing  out  of  the  selfishness  of 
some  rich  men  who  coin  their  strength  and  influence  and 
Sundays  into  gold.  The  difficulty  springing  out  of  the  self- 
ishness of  working  men  and  labor  leaders  who  use  their  influ- 
ence and  their  Sundays  for  selfish  purposes.  The  difficulty 
growing  out  of  conservatism  and  an  unwillingness  to  adopt 


372  The  Church:  its  Problems  and 

new  methods.  Every  consideration  of  patriotism  and  love  of 
one's  kind  strengthens  the  claim  of  the  church  upon  all  classes 
of  the  community. 

/~\UR  age  is  deeply  interested  in  origins  and 
^^  beginnings.  Historians  are  searching  out 
the  genesis  of  arts,  industries,  and  institutions. 
Scientists  are  occupied  with  the  question,  how 
the  fire  mist  cooled  into  the  solid  earth,  from 
whence  came  plant  life  and  animal  life,  and  what 
is  the  story  of  the  ascent  of  man.  Forgetting 
the  brilliant  colors  of  the  oriole  and  the  scarlet 
tanager,  the  biologist  remembers  only  the  cell 
from  which  birds  and  beasts  do  spring.  Leaving 
the  modern  town  and  city,  with  their  thousand- 
fold forms  of  comfort  and  beauty,  the  historian 
turns  his  steps  toward  that  heap  that  was  once 
the  temple  of  Diana,  or  gives  his  life  to  the  ruins 
beside  the  Nile  or  Euphrates.  In  our  own  land 
the  passion  for  the  antique,  the  enthusiasm  for 
old  coins,  old  books,  old  tools  and  weapons,  rep- 
resents man's  eager  desire  to  find  out  the  begin- 
nings of  progress  and  culture.  During  the 
World's  Fair  keen  observers  noticed  that  the 
rude  ox-carts  of  old  Mexico  received  as  much 
attention  as  the  Baldwin  engine ;  that  the  forked 
stick  used  for  scratching  the  field  in  Arabia  was 
more  interesting  than  the  steel  plough ;  that  the 


Claims  upon  American  Society  373 

rude  slings  and  stone  hammers  of  savage  tribes 
had  a  fascination  beyond  that  of  the  Krupp  gun. 

Society  has  now  journeyed  far  from  the  point 
at  which  our  rude  forefathers  started.  It  is  a 
far  cry  from  the  lucifer  match  back  to  the  fire 
stones  grinding  to  dust  a  little  dry  wood,  a  far 
cry  from  the  stone  house  to  the  bark  hut,  from 
the  wool  coat  to  the  garment  of  fig  leaves,  from 
the  pipe  organ  to  the  sea-shell  with  two  strings 
stretched  across  the  mouth,  from  the  telegraph 
and  the  newspaper  to  the  signal  fires  upon  the 
hilltops  that  in  a  single  night  flashed  the  news 
of  the  Spanish  Armada,  from  southern  England 
to  northern  Scotland,  from  the  modern  cathedral, 
with  songs  and  prayers,  its  emphasis  of  mercy, 
truth,  and  justice,  to  the  ancient  altars,  with 
smoking  sacrifices  and  rising  incense. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  the  beginnings 
of  arts  and  handicrafts  and  institutions  are  impor- 
tant alike  to  historians  and  philosophers.  For 
Linnaeus  the  seed  condenses  the  history  of  the 
tree.  For  Cuvier  the  germ  describes  the  bird. 
Tyndall  knew  that  the  spring  in  the  Alps  would 
tell  the  full  story  of  the  Rhine  or  Rhone.  The 
child  is,  indeed,  the  father  of  the  man,  but  he  is 
also  a  handbook  explaining  the  coming  sage  and 
seer. 


374  The  Church:  its  Problems  and 

Fascinating,  indeed,  the  story  how  a  piece  of 
bark  holding  a  few  hieroglyphics  has  developed 
into  the  modern  book  and  library,  but  more  fas- 
cinating still  the  story  of  the  evolution  of  the 
modern  church,  with  its  prayers  and  creeds,  its 
books  and  religious  institutions.  Lying  in  the 
Mamertine  prison  in  Rome,  Paul  asked  his  jailer 
to  bring  him  a  candle,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  a 
rich  merchant  in  that  far-off  city  named  Philippi, 
requesting  his  friend  to  read  the  letter  to  the 
church  that  met  in  his  house.  It  seems  that 
when  there  dawned  the  Sabbath  day,  full  of 
restful  hours,  a  few  families  used  to  put  on  a 
decent  dress  and  make  their  way  to  the  home 
of  this  merchant,  and  there  unite  their  words 
of  song  and  prayer  and  hope  and  aspirations. 
With  many  questions  and  answers  these  citizens 
conversed  upon  those  high  themes  named  jus- 
tice, mercy,  law,  conscience,  duty,  immortality, 
Christ,  God.  But  the  tiny  seed  enlarges  into 
the  redwood  tree  of  California,  the  little  moun- 
tain spring  deepens  and  widens  into  the  river 
that  bears  up  the  commerce  of  nations.  And 
the  little  group  assembled  in  the  court  of  the 
merchant's  house  in  Philippi  has  enlarged  into 
a  great  company.  The  parchment  that  the  mer- 
chant had  borrowed  from  a  friend  in  Jerusalem 


Claims  upon  American  Society  375 

has  multiplied  and  become  a  library  upon  ethics, 
philosophy,  and  the  rise  and  progress  of  morals 
—  a  library  named  the  Bible. 

The  little  room  in  which  the  families  assembled 
has  widened  into  the  dimensions  of  the  vast  cathe- 
dral named  Milan  or  Cologne.  The  low  ceiling 
has  lifted  itself  up  into  the  arches  of  York 
Minster  and  the  great  abbey.  The  open  squares 
for  light  have  become  arched  windows,  with 
stained  glass,  rich  with  the  faces  of  angels.  The 
cross  then  exhibited  as  the  instrument  upon 
which  their  Master  had  lost  His  life  has  been 
lifted  to  the  summit  of  the  cathedral  and  made 
golden.  The  verse  of  the  hesitating  preacher 
has  deepened  into  the  verse  of  Chrysostom,  "  the 
golden-mouth,"  and  Bernard,  with  flaming  tongue 
and  heart  of  fire.  The  rude  drawings  with  which 
the  first  church  was  adorned  has  developed  into 
frescoes  for  the  Sistine  Chapel,  while  the  great 
masters  have  toiled  to  enrich  the  walls  with 
color  and  canvas,  to  fill  every  niche  with  its 
statues  and  rich  marbles. 

That  little  group  of  children  led  into  Phil- 
emon's house  to  hear  one  who  had  just  come 
from  Jerusalem  tell  the  story  how  Christ  lifted 
the  children  in  His  arms  and  blessed  them, 
has  multiplied  into  innumerable  millions  coming 


3/6  The  Church  :  its  Problems  and 

together  upon  each  Sabbath  day  to  linger  long 
upon  the  great  truths  that  make  for  justice  in 
home  and  school  and  street.  To  the  sanctuary, 
also,  come  the  youth  and  maiden,  moving  toward 
a  marriage  altar  crowned  with  flowers,  kneeling 
there  to  ask  the  unseen  God  to  keep  their  lives 
as  white  as  the  lilies  that  bloom  beside  them, 
to  cause  all  the  years  to  be  filled  with  an  atmos- 
phere of  happiness  sweeter  than  these  blossoms, 
to  pray  that  death  may  not  be  an  untimely  frost 
falling  upon  their  young  lives.  To  the  sanctu- 
ary, also,  as  the  years  go  by,  come  kings  and 
emperors,  subjects  and  servants,  the  lettered  and 
the  unlearned  to  be  consecrated  by  the  same 
symbol  of  purity,  comforted  with  the  same  words 
of  consolation  and  in  the  hour  of  death  to  be 
pointed  to  that  realm  above  the  stars  into  which 
God  doth  gather  all  the  children  of  goodness. 

Interesting  the  story  how  the  rule  of  Hercules, 
self-appointed,  has  developed  into  the  rule  of 
Washington  or  Lincoln,  chosen  by  the  people ; 
but  more  thrilling  still  the  story  how  the  divine 
ideas  of  the  church  have  slowly  permeated  the 
morals  of  Pascal,  the  philosophy  of  Newton,  the 
decisions  of  Hale,  the  poetry  of  Milton,  the  music 
of  all  masters,  the  eloquence  of  all  statesmen, 
the  song  of  all  singers  from  David  to  Tennyson 


Claims  upon  American  Society  377 

and  Browning.  Could  we  go  back  to  the  era  of 
Bramante  and  Michael  Angelo,  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  understand  the  claim  that  the  church 
made  upon  all  citizens  of  that  time.  In  that 
era  of  enthusiasm  for  ecclesiastical  architecture 
builders  made  their  way  into  Africa,  seeking  out 
marbles  of  yellow  and  green  and  black,  and  came 
back  with  porphyry  from  Egypt,  ivory  from  the 
southern  forests,  having  swept  all  towns  and 
cities  for  objects  beautiful  enough  to  adorn  these 
temples  of  praise  and  worship.  The  cathedral 
was  the  very  heart  of  civilization,  being  at  once 
library,  gallery,  museum,  university.  For  its 
enrichment  princes  returning  from  distant  lands 
brought  paintings,  frescoes,  stained  glass,  colored 
marbles,  illuminated  books  and  missals.  Knights 
and  soldiers  victorious  in  battle  brought  utensils 
of  gold  and  silver,  with  bronzes  and  ivory. 
Noble  lords  and  ladies  brought  curtains  of  silk 
and  velvet,  with  rich  tapestries  and  hangings. 

But  let  no  man  think  this  enthusiasm  for  the 
church  was  a  strange  thing.  By  a  thousand 
achievements  for  humanity,  the  church  had  con- 
quered the  devotion  of  kings  and  subjects  alike. 
In  an  era  when  unwelcome  babes  and  infants 
maimed  and  deformed  were  exposed,  the  disciple 
reading  Christ's  words  about  little  children  went 


3  78  The  Church  :  its  Problems  and 

forth  to  rescue  the  orphans,  and  reared  homes  and 
schools  for  these  deserted  babes.  In  that  era, 
also,  a  favorite  slave  of  the  emperor  spilled  a 
goblet  of  wine  upon  his  lord's  robe,  and  was 
beheaded  in  the  presence  of  the  guests,  his  body 
being  thrown  into  the  fountain  as  food  for  the 
fish.  And  then  it  was  that  the  Christians  began 
to  plead  the  cause  of  the  slaves  and  the  op- 
pressed. About  that  time,  also,  one  thousand 
four  hundred  gladiators  were  slain  in  the  Coli- 
seum for  the  delectation  of  eighty  thousand  spec- 
tators. But  a  young  monk,  Telemachus,  leaped 
into  the  amphitheatre  and  indicted  the  emperor 
and  the  people  for  the  murder,  and  though  he 
himself  was  slain  the  gladiatorial  shows  were 
forever  ended,  and  the  church  was  again  victor 
over  inhumanity  and  crime.  At  a  time,  too, 
when  the  streets  of  Rome  and  Alexandria  were 
filled  with  the  lame,  the  blind,  and  the  halt,  who 
were  left  to  starve,  the  disciples  began  to  em- 
phasize Christ's  kindness  to  the  lame  man  and 
leper,  and  soon  Christians  went  forth  to  build 
asylums  for  the  children  of  weakness  and  in- 
validism.  When  three  centuries  had  passed,  the 
whole  empire  was  ringing  words  of  praise  for 
these  disciples. 

What     simplicity,    what    purity    were    theirs ! 


Claims  upon  American  Society  379 

What  heroism  under  suffering!  What  fortitude 
and  defeat !  How  beautiful  the  character  of 
Perpetua  and  Felicita!  How  unconquerable  the 
ardor  of  Ignatius  and  Polycarp  !  When  a  few  cen- 
turies have  passed  by  the  church  had  conquered 
a  thousand  forms  of  injustice  and  cruelty.  In 
that  hour  rich  men  crowded  into  the  temple  to 
empty  their  gold  into  its  treasure  chests.  The 
captain  marched  his  soldiers  in  the  door  of  the 
sanctuary  and,  unsheathing  his  sword,  offered  his 
weapon  for  defending  the  sacred  altar.  Soon 
the  princes  ordered  a  cross,  once  the  stigma  of 
ignominy  and  shame,  to  be  made  of  gold,  and 
that  cross  lent  loveliness  to  beauty  itself.  One 
day  the  emperor  ascended  the  throne  and  pro- 
claimed Christianity  as  the  religion  of  the  empire. 
Without  having  struck  a  single  blow  Christianity 
had  conquered.  Kings,  soldiers,  orators,  archi- 
tects, musicians,  jurists,  and  merchants  of  the 
world,  —  all  these  became  captives,  marching  in 
Christ's  glorious  triumphal  procession.  Then  fol- 
lowed centuries  when  the  avenues  leading  to  the 
sanctuary  were  crowded  with  worshippers,  when 
king  and  peasant  alike  uncovered  upon  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  priest,  with  whom  were  all  the 
issues  of  life  and  death. 

But  soon  the  gold  in  the  treasure  chests  of  the 


380  The  Church:  its  Problems  and 

church,  the  power  wielded  by  popes,  appealed  to 
the  greed  of  avaricious  men  and  roused  the  ambi- 
tion of  men  strong  and  crafty.  Putting  on  the 
garb  of  piety,  selfish  leaders  went  forth  to  spoil 
the  people  in  the  name  of  religion.  Then  came 
ages  dark,  indeed,  and  full  of  degradation. 
Despising  the  body,  monks  wore  rags  and  ate 
dirt.  Mendicant  friars  thought  the  nearer  they 
approached  to  beasts  in  life  the  nearer  they  would 
stand  to  God  in  death.  Dying  as  worms,  they 
hoped  to  waken  as  angels.  The  multitudes  stood 
in  squalor  and  ignorance,  waiting  for  death  to 
redeem  them  to  eternal  bliss  and  happiness.  In 
the  era  of  Augustus,  when  the  emperor  appeared 
in  his  royal  chariot,  the  people  grovelled  in  the 
dirt  and  threw  dirt  in  their  hair,  so  as  to  increase 
the  contrast  between  the  spotless  garment  of  the 
king  and  the  soiled  robes  of  the  subject.  Imi- 
tating this  custom,  theologians  thought  to  cause 
the  divine  throne  to  go  up  in  majesty  by  making 
man  go  down  toward  the  depravity  of  beasts  and 
devils.  In  that  age  the  people  were  guiltless  of 
any  knowledge  of  books.  Religious  priests  were 
so  ignorant  that  when  a  priest  had  two  ideas  in 
one  winter  it  made  the  year  notable. 

But  with  the  renaissance  of  intellect,  and  the 
reformation  of  conscience  and  morals,  came  the 


Claims  upon  American  Society  38! 

era  of  renewed  power  for  the  church.  Luther  and 
Melanchthon  in  Germany,  Wycliffe,  Cranmer,  and 
Knox  in  England  and  Scotland,  the  scholars  who 
founded  the  great  universities,  the  zealous  print- 
ers who  scattered  books  among  the  common 
people,  the  rise  of  invention,  discovery,  the  new 
science,  the  evangelical  movement  under  Whit- 
field,  not  only  corrected  the  old  evils,  but  clothed 
the  church  with  its  old-time  power.  Soon  the 
abuses  of  priests  and  prelates,  who  had  been, 
indeed,  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  were  forgotten. 
For  when  one  singer  makes  a  discord,  man  does 
not  give  up  his  love  of  music.  Man  closes  his 
ears  to  the  untaught  singer  or  the  untuned  instru- 
ment and  remembers  only  the  hours  when  his  ears 
were  ravished  with  notes  divine.  To-day  the  mis- 
rule of  great  cities,  where  the  treasury  is  looted 
and  the  taxes  of  the  poor  wasted,  has  become  al- 
most unbearable.  And  yet  the  abuses  do  not  rob 
men  of  their  faith  in  free  institutions.  Despite  all 
the  abuses  of  priests  and  prelates  during  the 
Middle  Ages,  for  full  two  hundred  years  now,  the 
church  has  been  clothed  with  sceptres  of  power, 
having  been  the  spring  of  education,  philanthropy, 
reform  ;  being  also,  as  Macaulay  said,  "  The  chief 
instrument  that  has  made  for  man's  progress  in 
knowledge  and  culture." 


382  The  Church:  its  Problems  and 

Now  again  has  come  an  era  when  the  multi- 
tude has  lost  its  enthusiasm  for  the  church.  No 
longer  do  the  people  throng  and  crowd  toward  the 
church,  waiting  for  the  cathedral  doors  to  open. 
In  England,  perchance,  the  fact  that  one  is  a 
good  churchman  may  smooth  the  way  to  political 
preferment  and  social  position  —  not  in  the  repub- 
lic. Sitting  in  the  windows  of  Oriel  College, 
Keble  wrote  his  poem  on  the  Sabbath  —  that 
"sweet  day  of  sacred  rest."  For  the  gifted 
scholar  Sunday  was  the  library  day,  the  day  for 
reason  and  the  imagination.  But  could  the  poet 
return  to  earth  and  visit  a  typical  city  some 
Sunday  morning,  he  would  find  the  library  empty, 
the  college  windows  deserted,  while  all  the  streets 
are  filled  with  young  women  and  men  bicycling, 
who  would  be  as  helpless  in  the  great  library  in 
Oxford  University  as  so  many  Fiji  Islanders,  and 
who  sincerely  believe  that  Sunday  was  given  to 
the  cultivation  of  their  very  highest  faculties  — 
namely,  the  muscles  of  their  legs.  All  will  gladly 
confess  that  our  Christian  fathers  were  the  archi- 
tects of  our  free  institutions,  whose  industry, 
education,  and  Christian  character  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  our  national  wealth,  and  handed  vast 
treasure  over  to  their  children.  Unfortunately, 
many  sons  and  daughters  who  have  inherited 


Claims  upon  American  Society  383 

this  treasure  from  their  fathers  are  without 
their  fathers'  faith,  and  are  conspicuous  for 
their  refusal  to  recognize  in  any  way  their 
religious  obligations.  For,  if  Christianity  lent 
the  fathers  power  to  achieve  position  and  prop- 
erty, the  luxury  they  conquered  has  slain 
their  children.  Many  wealthy  parents  weep  for 
their  children,  and  look  and  look  in  vain  for 
some  agent  to  do  for  their  sons  and  daughters 
what  poverty  and  adversity  did  for  their  noble 
ancestors. 

Some  churches  in  Boston  and  New  York  are 
always  crowded ;  also,  if  the  American  traveller 
visits  certain  great  churches  in  London  or 
Edinburgh,  he  finds  them  crowded  to  the  doors 
with  rich  and  poor,  and  high  and  low,  without 
regard  to  class  or  rank.  If  he  opens  the  re- 
ports of  the  British  Society  of  Scientific  Re- 
search, he  finds  there  a  plea  as  to  the  importance 
of  religion  for  a  free  people  made  by  the  present 
prime  minister  of  England.  If  he  goes  to  the 
library  to  ask  for  some  notable  book  of  philosophy 
or  theology,  he  may  be  handed  "  The  Foundations 
of  Religious  Belief,"  written  by  the  leader  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Balfour.  If  he  opens 
the  biography  of  England's  greatest  orator  of  this 
century,  or  its  greatest  statesman,  he  will  find 


384  The  Church :  its  Problems  and 

both  saying  that  they  made  it  a  rule  never,  not 
even  in  the  most  tumultuous  period  of  their  public 
career,  to  permit  any  event  to  keep  them  from 
their  place  in  the  house  of  God  upon  the  Sabbath 
day.  In  our  own  country,  also,  in  general  our 
presidents,  cabinet  officers,  our  justices  and  great- 
est preachers,  merchants,  jurists,  editors,  college 
presidents,  are  professedly  Christian  men.  Unfor- 
tunately another  class,  our  working  people,  have 
become  alienated  from  the  church,  while  if  our 
politicians  go  to  church,  they  go  to  ponder  those 
important  questions  of  worship  or  duty,  only  pro- 
vided some  one  does  not  give  them  an  invitation 
to  dinner  —  an  event  not  to  be  set  aside  by  those 
slight  considerations  called  "  the  laws  of  Almighty 
God."  There  are  thoughtless  multitudes  also  who 
go  to  the  church  at  occasional  intervals  or  in 
connection  with  public  events  of  striking  impor- 
tance. Multitudes  are  labor-worn,  care-ridden, 
gold-mad,  and  stone-blind  to  vice  and  also  virtue. 
Leisure  has  almost  gone.  Through  these  classes 
our  fame  as  a  nation  of  hoodlums,  our  reputation 
for  Sunday  theatres  and  music  halls,  our  fame 
as  Sunday  bicyclers  and  horse-racers  and  beer 
drinkers  and  law-breakers,  is  complete. 

If   over  against  this  indifference  of  the  multi- 
tude we  set  the  claims  of  the  church  upon  patri- 


Claims  upon  American  Society  385 

ots,  we  shall  find  that  these  claims  are  many  and 
strong.  Mark  the  affiliation  of  the  church  with 
art,  science,  and  literature.  Because  Christ  taught 
the  child  was  divine,  the  church  founded  schools, 
colleges,  and  universities  for  educating  its  youth. 
Because  man  was  made  in  God's  image  the  church 
founded  chairs  of  philosophy  to  study  the  laws  of 
reason,  imagination,  and  conscience.  Because  the 
unseen  God  led  the  stars  forth  and  called  them 
all  by  name,  Isaac  Newton  divided  his  time  be- 
tween the  study  of  the  stars,  and  the  study  of  his 
New  Testament.  Because  earth's  beauty  was 
the  divine  robe,  men  tasked  themselves  to  write 
books  that  should  tell  the  full  story  of  soils,  stars, 
and  suns,  sought  out  arts  beautiful  enough  for 
the  expression  of  infinite  beauty,  polished  poems 
suitable  for  Christ's  worship  and  praise.  Since 
God  was  a  father  and  all  men  were  brethren  the 
church  began  to  discuss  upon  high  politics,  rebuk- 
ing the  king  for  his  pride  and  the  subject  for 
his  sins,  discoursing  upon  the  hearth  the  mar- 
riage tie,  the  market,  the  state,  the  rights  of  lib- 
erty, the  duty  of  wealth.  It  soon  asked  the  poet 
to  justify  God's  ways  to  man.  It  asked  literature 
to  plead  the  cause  of  the  poor  and  the  oppressed. 
To  the  minds  of  a  thousand  scholars,  not  profess- 
edly Christians,  it  came  to  color  their  atmosphere 
zc 


386  The  Church:  its  Problems  and 

with  the  rich  tints  of  a  spiritual  life.  Soon  Chris- 
tianity entered  into  civilization  as  the  summer 
lies  upon  the  warm,  richly  colored  fields  of 
the  earth.  As  that  pilgrim  host,  marching 
toward  their  promised  lands,  were  comforted 
by  the  thought  that  the  heroes  and  fathers 
were  also  marching  in  the  sky  above  them, 
and  waving  banners  of  victory,  so  the  hosts 
of  society  journey  forward  the  more  rapidly 
because  of  the  vision  of  the  unseen  God,  and 
that  immortal  realm  where  the  hosts  shall  at 
last  encamp,  and  hang  out  the  signals  of  vic- 
tory. 

The  church  also  has  unique  claims  upon  the 
individual.  The  genius  of  Christianity  is  man 
making  and  man  growing.  Christianity  is  the 
science  of  right  living.  It  teaches  the  individual 
how  to  make  the  most  of  himself.  It  asks  the 
youth  whose  ideals  have  been  battered  and  marred 
by  the  strife  and  tumult  of  the  week,  to  go  aside 
one  day  and  bow  the  head  in  the  presence  of  God, 
man's  Father ;  of  Christ,  man's  Saviour,  and  test 
himself  by  the  higher  life  and  ideals.  It  whispers 
that  if  the  arts  are  to  be  high,  if  the  sciences  are 
to  be  rich,  and  the  laws  worthy,  that  the  indi- 
vidual must  be  great  in  mind  and  heart.  And 
the  history  of  civilization  seems  to  justify  this 


Claims  upon  American  Society  387 

emphasis  of  the  individual.  For  the  beginnings 
of  law  we  go  back  to  one  who  lingered  long  years 
in  the  desert  with  God  —  Moses.  For  all  art  and 
beauty,  we  go  back  to  that  blind  bard  in  Greece, 
whose  physical  eyes  were  closed  to  the  earthly 
sights,  but  whose  spiritual  eyes  opened  upon  that 
unseen  realm.  The  palaces  and  galleries  of 
Venice  also  go  back  to  that  blameless  knight 
and  stainless  scholar  who  laid  the  foundations  of 
that  city  of  the  sea.  Indeed  every  great  institu- 
tion is  explained  by  a  great  individual.  Earth's 
feeblings  represent  the  insect  life  that  busy  them- 
selves with  the  forces  that  appear  to  the  eye,  and 
the  ear,  and  the  appetite.  A  great  man  is  one 
who  dwells  apart  and  works  up  divine  principles 
into  character.  The  hour  of  Sunday  worship 
therefore  represents  a  protest  against  the  life 
that  creeps  and  crawls.  The  church  asks  each 
individual  to  bow  the  head,  remembering  that 
when  man  plans  God  purposes,  that  when  man 
weeps  God  pities,  that  when  man  falls  God  for- 
gives, that  when  man  dies  the  everlasting  arms 
receive  the  fainting  pilgrim. 

By  reason  of  the  modern  social  problems  and 
the  strained  relations  between  the  classes,  also, 
the  church  has  a  peculiar  claim  upon  the  citizens 
of  this  era.  Our  epoch  is  characterized  by  new 


388  The  Church :  its  Problems  and 

tools,  new  social  forces,  new  forms  of  wealth  and 
poverty.  Old  ideas  and  old  institutions  have 
slowly  disintegrated.  The  institutions  that  for- 
merly made  for  social  order  are  dissolving.  All 
these  things  are  in  a  state  of  flux,  and  no  man 
can  say  when  shall  begin  that  era  of  construction 
with  the  new  political  economy,  the  new  sociology, 
and  the  new  theology.  For  the  moment  the  battle 
is  growing  fiercer.  Every  month  is  tightening 
the  tension  between  the  classes.  The  chasm  be- 
tween the  rich  and  poor  is  slowly  broadening  and 
deepening.  The  working  classes,  once  patient, 
have  become  irritated,  and  wear  brows  black 
with  hate.  The  very  restraint  of  the  leaders  is 
ominous.  Tools  also  are  multiplying  so  rapidly 
that  society  cannot  adjust  itself  fast  enough  to 
give  employment  to  people  thrown  out  of  positions, 
through  invention.  New  instruments  develop  so 
rapidly  that  it  is  believed  one  million  men  are 
constantly  out  of  work,  beholding  schools  which 
their  children  cannot  enter,  foods  they  cannot 
buy,  conveniences  their  wives  cannot  possess, 
asking  only  for  work  that  is  denied  them ;  the 
cry  of  the  poor  has  become  exceeding  bitter. 
Nevertheless,  by  way  of  preeminence  the  poor 
need  the  church. 

And  if  many  rich  men  and  prosperous  are  Chris- 


Claims  upon  American  Society  389 

tian  in  their  bearing,  some  are  harsh  and  heartless, 
flaunting  their  luxury  and  increasing  the  peril. 
Wise  men  feel  that  unless  the  church  can 
spiritualize  wealth  and  property,  teaching  the 
employer  that  his  laborers  are  brethren,  teaching 
the  laborers  that  the  employer  has  rights,  relieving 
the  tension  through  the  law  of  kindness  and  sym- 
pathy, free  institutions  are  doomed.  And  to-day 
it  is  the  Christian  teacher  that  stands  between  the 
two  combatants.  There  are  100,000  clergymen  in 
the  land,  and  it  is  the  lot  of  fully  75,000  of  them 
to  work  among  the  children  of  the  poor.  Their 
average  salary  is  less  than  $900  a  year.  They 
seek  to  educate  children,  and  visit  the  poor, 
strengthening  the  weak,  carrying  their  burdens, 
dissolving  their  hatred,  plying  men  with  considera- 
tions of  industry,  economy,  and  thrift,  with  the 
laws  of  honor  and  justice  and  God.  And  these 
leaders  of  the  church  work  more  hours  in  the  day, 
bear  more  burdens,  know  deeper  anguish  and  tra- 
vail of  soul,  further  justice  and  truth,  suffering 
unto  blood  for  social  order  and  peace,  and  their 
very  shoe  latchets  many  who  criticise  are  not 
worthy  to  unloose.  Without  their  self-sacrificing 
labors  this  nation  would  soon  be  plunged  into 
social  anarchy  and  ruin.  Surely  all  who  believe 
in  the  sanctity  of  property,  the  permanence  of  the 


390  The  Church:  its  Problems  and 

home,  the  perpetuity  of  free  institutions,  are  under 
a  solemn  obligation  to  support  these,  who  plead 
the  cause  of  the  poor,  affirming  that  there  is  an 
unseen  God  at  work  in  this  world  whose  power 
is  mightier  than  armies,  more  omnipotent  than 
kings  and  presidents,  before  whom  all  the  thrones 
of  earth  and  its  empires  and  armies  are  but  the 
playthings  of  a  child,  and  who  is  guiding  the 
world  upward  toward  the  new  times  of  social 
prosperity  and  peace. 

With  the  increase  of  wealth  has  come  luxury, 
and  in  multitudes  the  iron  has  gone  out  of  the 
blood  and  the  stern  sense  of  duty  has  departed 
from  conscience.  In  this  era,  when  relations 
between  the  classes  are  strained  to  the  uttermost, 
the  churches  are  suffering  through  the  indiffer- 
ence of  the  working  classes  on  the  one  side, 
and  of  the  rich  classes  upon  the  other.  Recently 
it  was  my  fortune  to  converse  with  a  mer- 
chant of  national  repute.  Asked  as  to  his  re- 
ligious convictions,  he  expressed  his  belief  that 
Christianity  was  the -hope  of  American  society. 
Falling  into  a  meditative  mood,  he  suddenly  ex- 
claimed, "  While  I  wish  my  children  to  be  trained 
in  Christian  principles,  personally  I  never  go  to 
church."  When  questioned  as  to  how  he  spent 
the  Sabbath  day,  he  said  :  "  I  use  it  to  put  myself 


Claims  upon  American  Society  391 

into  fine  physical  form  and  training  for  the  duties 
of  the  week.  My  competitor  (mentioning  a  great 
merchant)  is  a  church  man,  always  in  his  pew  and 
with  the  Bible  class,  and  giving  himself  to  many 
forms  of  Christian  activity.  He  is  ten  years 
older  than  I.  Now  my  idea  is  that  he  gives  one- 
seventh  of  his  nerve  force  and  brain  power  to  the 
church.  I  have  made  up  my  mind  that  by  giving 
the  seven-sevenths  of  my  nervous  and  mental 
powers  to  business,  that  ultimately  I  can  outstrip 
him  in  the  commercial  world.  I  ride  horseback 
on  Sunday  morning,  sleep  and  rest  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  fulfil  an  occasional  duty  on  Sunday 
evening,  and  on  Monday  morning  I  feel  like  a 
race-horse."  Meanwhile  this  merchant  has  de- 
serted the  church,  left  his  pastor  to  carry  on  his 
work  of  instructing  children  and  youth,  to  carry 
wisdom  to  the  poor  and  ignorant,  not  know- 
ing that  the  time  must  come  when  perhaps  the 
untrained  poor  will  rise  up  in  their  envy  and 
hatred  to  burn  and  pillage  and  plunder.  And  over 
against  the  selfish  rich  stands  the  demagogue  who 
wishes  to  use  the  poor  for  his  own  advantage. 
This  agitator  urges  upon  the  working  classes  that 
the  power  of  wealth  must  be  met  by  the  organized 
force  of  labor;  that  often  the  club  and  the  fire- 
brand are  necessary ;  that  some  strikes  must  not 


392  The  Cburcb :  its  Problems  and 

be  embarrassed  by  the  ten  commandments ;  that 
occasionally  it  is  necessary  to  kill  and  steal  and 
destroy ;  that  moral  teachers  are  paid  servants  of 
the  wealthy  class.  In  many  cities  these  agitators 
have  driven  the  working  people  from  the  church, 
to  the  grievous  loss  of  both  parties.  And  between 
the  selfishness  of  the  rich  and  the  selfishness  of 
the  poor,  thirteen  or  fourteen  millions  of  our  chil- 
dren and  youth  are  coming  up  in  this  republic  as 
ignorant  of  the  ten  commandments  as  the  Hotten- 
tots in  Africa,  or  the  beasts  of  our  stockyards. 

The  work  of  the  church  in  the  villages  and 
towns  is  also  suddenly  complicated  by  the  very 
multiplicity  of  intellectual  interests  and  the  num- 
ber of  services  on  the  Sabbath  day.  For  the 
fathers,  the  Sunday  was  the  college  day,  the 
library  day,  and  by  reason  of  hungry  minds  and 
hearts  they  invented  services  many  and  long. 
Now,  every  hour  is  crowded,  and  the  pulpit  has 
ceased  to  be  the  sole  source  of  moral  instruc- 
tion. Conservative  church  officials  also  love  the 
traditions  past,  and  are  reluctant  to  adopt  new 
methods.  Both  pastor  and  people  are  suffering 
through  an  excess  of  preaching.  More  preachers, 
doubtless,  are  dying  through  the  second  service 
than,  as  has  been  said,  through  all  other  diseases 
together.  The  late  Professor  Swing  left  a  deli- 


Claims  upon  American  Society  393 

cious    sarcasm    upon    the    over-multiplication    of 
religious  addresses. 

In  a  far-off  century  a  hermit  who  had  reflec- 
ted long  in  the  desert,  returned  to  a  village  and 
assembled  the  people  to  give  them  the  result  of 
his  reflections.  Some  two-score  years  later,  when 
the  great  orator  died,  he  left  four  sermons.  In 
their  grief,  the  people  who  stood  about  his  grave 
asked  if  a  successor  could  ever  be  found.  One 
came,  at  last,  and  dying  fifty  years  later,  he  left 
ten  sermons  on  the  deep  things  of  God.  Once 
preaching  was  invented,  the  people  determined 
to  have  much  of  it.  The  doctors  say,  'Dress 
warmly,'  and  at  once  each  person  buys  a  cart- 
load of  clothes;  the  railway  came,  and  all  travel 
all  the  time;  like  the  old  lady  who  had  $1000 
stock  in  a  railway,  and  who  was  observed  to  be 
in  the  cars  of  her  line  daily,  and  explained  that 
she  wished  to  enable  her  company  to  declare  a 
dividend;  beer  was  discovered  by  the  old  Ger- 
mans, and  the  modern  Teuton  drinks  daily  thirty 
glasses  ;  a  weekly  newspaper  was  founded,  and 
the  overworked  citizen  buys  a  morning  paper, 
and  noon  edition,  an  afternoon  impress,  two 
evening  papers,  and  then  hastens  home  to  put 
a  mustard  plaster  on  the  back  of  his  much  cul- 
tured head ;  preaching  came,  and  society  said, 


394  The  Church :  its  Problems  and 

let  us  have  that  blessing  all  the  time,  twice  or 
three  times  each  Sunday,  a  Sunday-school,  and 
two  Endeavor  Societies ;  and  now  when  the 
preacher  dies  at  forty,  he  leaves  behind  "the 
manuscripts  of  four  thousand  sermons,  each  writ- 
ten for  a  small  consideration." 

We  smile  at  the  humor  of  the  great  man's 
protest  against  this  overpreached  generation. 
Fortunately  the  younger  men  have  found  the 
way  out  of  the  difficulty.  They  have  reduced 
their  Sunday  services  to  three;  for  the  best  of 
reasons  they  give  the  entire  week  to  the  careful 
preparation  of  one  morning  sermon,  with  the 
result  that  the  thoughtful  men  in  the  commu- 
nity are  returning  to  the  pews.  The  one  Sunday- 
school  in  the  afternoon  is  also  strengthened  by 
the  better  work  of  unwearied  teachers,  and  there- 
fore is  recovering  its  old  power  and  influence 
and  becoming  a  family  school.  The  evening 
service  is  given  up  entirely  to  the  young  peo- 
ple's service,  under  the  general  direction  of  the 
pastor,  while  parents  are  asked  to  spend  their 
Sunday  evenings  at  home  with  their  little  chil- 
dren. The  gains  to  the  sermon,  for  both  people 
and  pastor,  are  enormous.  That  which  the  old 
methods  and  multiplied  services  could  not  do, 
the  new  plan  is  easily  accomplishing.  The 


Claims  upon  American  Society  395 

church,  through  better  methods,  seems  to  be 
entering  upon  a  new  era  of  influence  in  the 
community. 

To-day  every  consideration  that  makes  for  the 
permanence  of  society  asks  that  every  patriot 
and  citizen  should  formally  and  publicly  unite 
with  some  one  of  the  many  churches  of  our  cities 
and  country.  In  a  republic  a  President  strength- 
ens reverence  for  free  institutions  by  taking  the 
oath  of  office.  Prosperity  also  is  made  more  sa- 
cred for  that  dramatic  act,  the  signing  of  a  deed. 
Justice  is  advanced  in  the  courts  by  a  pledge  to 
speak  the  truth.  The  home  is  guarded  through 
a  form  called  the  marriage  ceremony.  The  col- 
lege is  the  more  surely  founded  because  of  the 
act  of  matriculation.  And  the  laws  of  man  and 
God  are  strengthened  by  that  dramatic  event 
called  uniting  with  the  church  and  swearing 
fidelity  to  conscience  and  the  highest  Christian 
ideals.  The  church  has  now  entered  upon  one 
of  the  most  trying  periods  of  all  history.  The 
battle  is  to  be  fierce,  even  though  the  issue  is 
not  doubtful.  During  the  late  war  certain  citi- 
zens declined  to  take  sides  either  against  slavery 
or  for  it,  and  shame  now  mantles  the  cheeks  of 
their  children.  And  when  the  sunset  gun  doth 
boom  and  the  battle  end,  miserable  indeed  will 


396      The  Church :  its  Problems  and  Claims 

be  all  those  who  meet  Paul  and  John,  Luther 
and  Livingstone,  Milton  and  Cromwell,  the 
heroes  and  fathers  of  yesterday,  having  had  no 
part  in  their  battle,  having  received  no  scar  and 
won  no  spur,  having  never  sought  to  correct 
the  weakness  of  the  present  church  by  lending 
it  their  example  or  influence.  In  this  time, 
when  the  needs  of  the  church  are  so  many  and 
so  important,  every  patriot  and  citizen  should 
join  not  one  church,  but  many.  Journeying  to 
the  seashore  in  the  summer,  there  in  some 
chapel  let  the  patriot  and  Christian  swear  fidel- 
ity to  conscience  and  culture.  Returning  to  the 
city  in  the  winter,  there  in  some  church  let 
him  pledge  anew  his  interest  to  all  the  forces 
that  make  for  justice  and  mercy,  for  obedience 
to  the  citizen,  man's  brother,  to  Christ,  the 
soul's  Saviour,  to  God,  the  soul's  Father. 


INDEX 


Addison,  8. 

Advantages  of  the  ministry,  35 ;  its 
teachings  and  emphasis  perma- 
nent and  eternal,  35. 

Achilles,  42. 

Acropolis,  44,  92. 

Arnold,  Matthew,  46,  67,  76;  na- 
ture, 271 ;  his  view  of  Plato,  271 ; 
his  definition  of  religion,  299. 

Archias,  49. 

Angelo,  Michael,  54,  71,  117;  last 
judgment,  123, 268, 330, 358, 377. 

Alcibiades,  50,  174. 

Africa,  55,  59. 

Architects,  55. 

Abelard,  67. 

Achievements  of  intellect,  70. 

Advancement  of  the  common  peo- 
ple, 78. 

Ambrose,  79. 

All  great  leaders  from  the  poor, 
Moses,  Lincoln,  79. 

All  great  poets  from  the  poor, 
David,  Burns,  79. 

All  great  inventors  from  the  poor, 
Watt,  Stevenson,  79. 

All  great  artists  from  the  poor,  Cor- 
reggio,  Corot,  Millet,  80. 

All  great  scientists  from  the  poor, 
Newton,  Ferguson,  80. 

All  nature  vibrating  in  music  the 
thought  of  a  world  mind,  81. 

Alexander,  Addison,  85. 

Aristotle,  94,  216. 

Adams,  95. 

Apollo,  117. 

Aphrodite,  117. 

Ancient  custom  of  sacrifice,  121. 


Augustinians,  123. 

Atheistic  materialism,  124. 

Agnostic's,  the,  view,  143. 

Astrologer,  the,  and  the  princess, 
150. 

Attempts  to  cheapen  man,  162. 

Aram,  Eugene,  167. 

Adjustment,  the,  of  man  to  God, 
169;  to  nature,  169;  to  environ- 
ment and  knowledge,  169. 

Agassiz's  idea,  171. 

All  liberty  bought  with  martyrdom, 

177- 

Advance  in  wisdom  measured  by 
conception  of  God,  183. 

All  our  knowledge  partial,  185. 

All  conceptions  of  deity  climaxed 
in  Christ,  195. 

Astronomer's,  the,  search,  205. 

Archaeologist's,  the,  search,  205. 

All  the  highways  of  knowledge  have 
converged  of  late,  205. 

Antagonism  to  the  doctrine  of  evo- 
lution, 207. 

Atheistic  view  of  evolution,  211. 

Atheism  the  apotheosis  of  blind 
faith,  211. 

Advancement  of  man  to  inconceiv- 
able heights,  213. 

Adam,  216. 

Appeal  made  by  the  evolutionary 
view  to  reason  and  to  divine  help, 
221. 

Atheism,  268. 

Agnosticism,  268. 

Absorption  and  indifference,  270. 

Avcrnus,  271. 

All  beauty  and  marvel  needs  a 
master  mind  to  explain  it,  274. 


397 


398 


Index 


Atom,  the,  offered  as  the  world's 

architect,  275. 

Aladdin's  wonders  paled,  275. 
Augustine,  284,  341. 
All    the    theological    systems    in 

Christ's  parables,  284. 
Arguments    the    raw    material    of 

thought,  287 

Apparent    depth  not    always   evi- 
dence of  profundity,  287. 
All  institutions  rest  upon  figurative 

teaching,  288. 
Appian,  the,  Way,  294. 
Associations  of  home  and  affection 

in  the  East  connected  with  the 

"  way,"  296,  297. 
Attractiveness    of     God    through 

Christ,  302. 
Athens,  326. 
Approach    to    God    different    for 

every  one,  332. 
Arnold,  Benedict,  342. 
Automatic,  the,  judgment  seat  in 

man,  344. 

Answer,  the,  of  nature,  345. 
All  things  drawn  upward  to  Christ, 

345- 
Altruism  only  developed  with  man, 

348. 

Automatic,  the,  judgment  seat  ex- 
plains the  warnings  of  the  Bible, 
354 ;  how  it  has  been  misunder- 
stood, 355. 

Adam  and  Eve,  360. 

Attempted  revision  of  creed,  361. 

All  classes  drawn  to  the  sanctuary, 
376. 

Attempt  of  theologians  to  increase 
the  majesty  of  God's  throne,  380. 

Alienation  of  the  working  people, 

384- 

B 

Bede,  8. 
Bunyan,  10;  his  selection  of  names 

for  his  characters,  91 ;  his  faith, 

125.  364- 

Browning,  letters  of  the  Brownings, 
*7,  23,  25,  47,  74,  118,  168 ;  his 


statement  of  relative  greatness, 
188,  301,  306,  307,  377. 

Beecher,  17,  31 ;  his  statement  of 
life's  difficulty,  97,  168,  331,  342. 

Brooks,  17,  31. 

Book,  a,  the  mummy  of  a  soul,  17. 

Bruce,  19,  67,  210. 

Bernard,  19,  79,  375. 

Belshazzar,  24. 

Bryant,  31. 

Bancroft,  31. 

Bushnell,  34, 173. 

Burke,  42,  70 ;  his  view  of  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount,  75, 98 ;  charge 
upon  Warren  Hastings,  142 ;  his 
eloquence,  184,  231 ;  oration  on 
India,  285,  342. 

Brown,  John,  43,  222. 

Burns,  "  a  man's  a  man  for  a'  that," 
51,  79,  140,  342. 

Bacon,  54,  94,  102,  140,  150. 

Bright,  John,  56. 

Buddha,  57. 

Barbarous  tribes,  69. 

Booth,  General,  72 ;  his  words,  318. 

Beethoven,  85. 

Beauty,  the,  and  power  of  God's 
throne  shown  forth  by  Christ, 
126. 

Borgias,  the,  142. 

Byron,  150. 

Beginning  of  man's  creative  work, 
160. 

Botanist's,  the,  search,  205. 

Baronius's  statement  regarding  sci- 
ence and  religion,  209. 

Biologist's,  the,  indebtedness  to 
evolution,  210. 

Bible,  no  other  book  holds  such 
vital  relations  to  mind  and  heart, 
229 ;  effect  of  its  withdrawal  from 
the  world,  231;  its  influence  on 
child  life,  poetry,  literature,  and 
oratory,  231 ;  its  principles  the 
substance  of  law  and  jurispru- 
dence, 231 ;  its  universal  hold 
and  adaptation,  231 ;  recently 
the  centre  of  storm  and  attack, 


Index 


399 


231;  its  former  treatment,  232; 
transition  period,  232 ;  attacks  of 
wit  and  scholarship,  232;  illus- 
tration of  modern  treatment,  232; 
treasure  invites  attack,  232;  er- 
rors and  mistakes  charged  upon 
it,  234;  confidence  of  many 
destroyed,  234;  the  smoke  now 
clearing  away,  234 ;  its  authority 
more  firmly  established,  234 ;  its 
mission  just  begun,  235 ;  its  per- 
petuity, 235 ;  new  conception  of 
it,  237 ;  faith  in  it  strengthened, 
237;  new  delight  in  its  study, 
237 ;  former  misconceptions,  237  ; 
the  Bible  a  library,  238;  when 
and  how  written,  238;  distance 
in  time  between  earliest  and  latest 
writings,  238;  its  witness  to  the 
folly  of  sin  and  wisdom  of  right 
living,  239;  a  history  of  the  rise 
and  progress  of  ideas  of  right  and 
wrong,  239;  a  record  of  what 
God  has  done,  239;  of  morals 
and  mercy,  239;  its  unity,  239; 
its  description  of  man's  rise  and 
progress,  240;  the  Bible  re- 
opened, 250;  its  human  and 
divine  elements,  251 ;  the  Bible  a 
lamp,  231 ;  the  Bible  a  unique 
illustration  of  the  principle  of 
evolution,  252;  at  the  threshold 
of  its  appreciation,  252 ;  its  com- 
fort for  young  and  old,  253; 
effect  of  its  constant  perusal  by 
all  for  five  years,  253 ;  God's  book 
of  morals  and  mercy,  His  book 
of  progress,  253. 

Buttresses  evidences  of  strength, 
258. 

Baker,  knowledge  derived  through 
him,  263. 

Ball,  his  computations,  264. 

Ben  Hut  297. 

Bismarck,  302. 

Butler,  Bishop,  331. 

Booth,  Wilkes,  342. 

Branmante,  377. 


Balfour's  "  foundations  of  belief," 

383- 
Beginnings  of  law  in  Moses,  387; 

of   art  and  beauty  in    Homer, 

387- 
Battle,  the,  now  fierce,  388. 


Choate,  Rufus,  8. 

Caedmon,  8. 

Commerce  and  trade,  13. 

Culture  without  college,  13 ;  "  Cul- 
ture Clubs,"  14. 

Cromwell,  life  of,  17,  72,  90,  95, 
230,  396. 

Carlyle,  23,  25,  46,  74. 

Christianity  of  yesterday  an  obstacle 
for  to-day,  26;  its  action  in  law 
and  medicine,  26 ;  a  preparation 
for  life  here  and  hereafter,  53; 
the  friend  of  mind  and  increase 
of  knowledge,  54;  its  influence 
on  fine  arts,  55;  Christianity 
moving  forward,  57 ;  its  ultimate 
triumph,  57;  its  future,  59;  it 
challenges  investigation,  257;  it 
takes  nothing  for  granted,  257; 
its  appeal  to  the  reason,  258;  its 
confidence  in  itself,  259 ;  confused 
with  traditions,  270 ;  its  view  of 
the  future  life,  350 ;  a  pleader  for 
the  oppressed,  378. 

Collyer's,  Robert,  statement  regard- 
ing prayer,  27. 

Church-going  often  regarded  as  not 
obligatory,  28. 

Channing,  31,  34;  his  faith,  123. 

Correggio,  42,  80. 

Cato,  43. 

Cranmer,  44,  116,  381. 

Crimea,  44. 

Christ's  waxing  fame,  45;  His  teach- 
ings watchwords  of  coming  revo- 
lution, 48;  His  enthusiasm  for 
humanity,  51 ;  He  capitalized 
manhood,  52 ;  fascination  of  His 
story,  64 ;  His  sufferings,  64 ; 
His  career  and  its  results,  65; 


400 


Index 


His  fame  in  the  future,  66;  expla- 
nation of  His  supremacy,  66; 
His  teachings  and  character,  66 ; 
His  heroism,  67;  His  attitude 
toward  His  disciples,  67;  the 
supreme  example  of  genius  in 
the  realm  of  intellect,  68 ;  His 
influence  upon  law,  letters,  lit- 
erature, and  life,  73;  earth's 
supreme  literary  artist,  73;  His 
four  biographies,  74;  His  opti- 
mism, 76;  His  serenity,  77;  His 
breadth  of  outlook,  77 ;  His  tem- 
porary depression  on  Calvary, 
77;  His  thought  of  God,  82; 
Christ  the  world's  burden-bearer, 
82;  His  view  of  immortality,  83 ; 
His  testimony  to  immortality,  86 ; 
His  name  above  every  name,  89 ; 
fascination  of  his  name,  90;  His 
career  a  strange  one  to  fulfil 
prophecy,  93;  His  influence  on 
law,  literature,  art,  and  science, 
94 ;  His  universal  supremacy,  94 ; 
His  supremacy  under  stress  of 
events,  97 ;  His  early  years,  97  ; 
Christ  a  contradiction  of  all  law, 
99 ;  untrained  and  untaught,  99 ; 
His  relation  to  wealth  and  pov- 
erty, 100;  His  influence  upon 
political  economy,  100;  His  rela- 
tion to  the  family,  100 ;  Christ  the 
universal  man,  101 ;  the  ideal  of 
all  nations,  101;  His  influence 
upon  manhood  and  womanhood, 
101 ;  the  ideal  for  man  and 
woman,  102 ;  His  emphasis  of 
the  personal  element,  102;  no 
records  written  by  Him,  102; 
His  method  personal,  103 ;  His 
test  and  plan,  103;  Christ  the 
incarnate  heart  of  God,  104;  His 
view  of  the  worth  of  human  life, 
106;  His  estimate  based  on  quali- 
ties within,  107 ;  His  enthusiasm 
for  humanity,  108  ;  His  unveiling 
of  God  to  a  child's  understanding, 
120 ;  His  portrayal  of  God  to 


man,  121 ;  changed  views  of  His 
teachings  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
123;  His  religious  teachings  in 
contrast  with  other  systems,  123 ; 
His  conception  of  the  church, 
129;  His  test  personal  allegiance 
to  Himself,  130;  His  disciples 
united  in  love  of  Him,  130 ;  His 
idea  of  the  church,  131 ;  His 
beautiful  use  of  symbols,  132; 
He  leaves  man  free  in  natural  and 
spiritual  life,  133 ;  Christ  abroad 
upon  His  mission  of  recovery, 
136;  His  enthusiasm  forhumanity 
a  part  of  His  mastery  over  man, 
163 ;  His  new  conception  of  the 
soul's  worth,  164;  His  enthusiasm 
for  the  soul  brings  renaissance  of 
the  mind  and  heart,  164;  His 
uplifting  of  prodigal  man,  177; 
His  revelation  of  the  Father,  196; 
His  conversion  of  the  cosmic  law, 
222;  His  influence  leavening 
society,  222 ;  His  substitution  of 
the  real  idea  for  the  symbol,  246 ; 
its  evolution  shown  in  the  Bible, 
246 ;  similar  evolution  of  the  idea 
of  God,  246;  Christ  the  only 
guide,  277;  Christ's  revelation 
of  God's  mind  and  heart,  278 ; 
His  exhortations  to  us,  278 ;  His 
supremacy  among  men  of  genius 
illustrated  by  His  use  of  parables 
and  pictures,  281 ;  His  condensa- 
tion of  systems  of  theology,  284 ; 
His  supremacy  over  all  scholars 
and  philosophers,  288 ;  His  use 
of  illustrations  to  portray  Himself, 
293;  Christ  "the  way"  for  rich 
and  poor,  303 ;  for  ignorant  and 
troubled,  303 ;  His  touch  upon 
all  emergencies  and  conditions, 
305 ;  His  sympathy  and  comfort 
for  all;  305;  His  beauty  and 
purity,  306;  Christ  the  way  to 
immortal  hope,  307;  His  em- 
phatic statement  regarding  the 
future,  309;  Christ  pervading  all 


Index 


401 


law  and  life,  331;  His  teachings 
the  fundamentals,  345;  His  law 
of  self-sacrifice,  348 ;  His  pitying 
tenderness  toward  those  in  sor- 
row, 364 ;  His  power  in  our  lives, 
366;  we  shall  live  because  he 
lives,  366;  His  blessing  the  chil- 
dren, 375;  His  kindness  to  the 
leper  and  cripple,  378. 

Cicero,  49,  76,  123;  his  argument, 
170;  his  villas  and  eloquence, 
187, 223, 263 ;  his  "  Disputations," 
3°8,  314. 

Charlemagne,  50. 

Constantine,  52. 

China,  55,  59. 

Confucius,  57. 

Corinth,  59. 

Can  ova,  65. 

Coleridge,  68;  his  verdict  of  the 
richest  passage  in  literature,  75 ; 
before  Mont  Blanc,  165;  his  re- 
turn to  God,  170. 

Caesar,  Julius,  76,  294,  307. 

Corot,  80. 

Cuvier,  80,  373. 

Character  the  all-important  thing, 
84. 

Can  the  wrong-doer  retrieve  him- 
self? 108. 

Crisis  in  man's  life,  109. 

Crusaders,  the,  of  the  Middle  Ages 
and  their  spoils,  122. 

Columbus's  discovery  of  our  conti- 
nent, 128 ;  his  agitation  at  final 
proof  of  his  theory,  206,  208,  259, 
262,  276. 

Christian  living  binding  because  of 
nature  of  things  and  facts  in  case, 
129. 

Changes  wrought  by  the  new 
truths,  135. 

Clough,  Arthur,  144, 

Clouds,  the,  about  God's  throne, 
144. 

Cleopatra,  150. 

Cabot,  John,  160. 

Conceit  and  the  sense  of  worth,  160. 
2D 


Chasm  which  separates  man  from 
animals,  167. 

Communion  betv/een  two  persons, 
what  it  means,  170. 

Catiline,  174. 

Conception  of  God  as  a  judge,  182. 

Copernicus,  182,  208. 

Champollion's  study  of  the  Egyp- 
tian hieroglyphics,  204. 

Caird,  210. 

Cope,  217. 

Conflict,  the,  between  the  lower 
and  higher  spiritual  man,  219. 

Czar's,  the,  coronation,  its  pag- 
eantry, 242. 

Ceremony  in  the  republic,  242. 

Communion  with  the  Creator  pos- 
sible to  all,  272. 

Calvin,  284,  331. 

Confessions,  the,  of  philosophers, 
300. 

Clifford,  Prof.,  300, 301. 

Cheapness  of  human  beings,  304. 

Conservatism  of  energy,  347; 
changed  form  of  this  law,  349. 

Confession  of  faith,  361. 

Conscience  inexorable  and  inces- 
sant, 363. 

Chrysostom,  375. 

Cathedral,  the,  the  heart  of  civili- 
zation, 377. 

Church's,  the,  winning  devotion  by 
its  achievements  for  humanity, 

377- 

Coliseum,  378. 

Church,  the,  again  clothed  with 
power,  381 ;  certain  churches 
always  well  filled,  383 ;  its  claims 
upon  patriots,  385 ;  its  affiliations 
with  art,  science,  and  literature, 
385 ;  its  entrance  into  all  spheres, 
385;  its  claims  upon  the  indi- 
vidual, 386;  its  peculiar  claims 
upon  citizens  of  this  era,  387. 

Course  free  institutions  must  take 
to  survive,  389. 

Clergymen  in  our  land,  389 ;  their 
self-sacrifice,  389. 


402 


Index 


Conversation  with  well-known  mer- 
chant, 390. 

Complications  of  work  in  villages 
and  towns,  392. 

D 

Devices  of  production  and  distri- 
bution, 14. 

Difficulty  of  preaching  to-day,  25. 

Dives,  52. 

Dream  of  an  English  jurist,  56. 

Distance  between  savage  and 
genius,  between  genius  and 
Christ,  70. 

Dante,  71 ;  his  poetry  beyond  all 
his  other  gifts  and  acquirements, 
187,  230,  283,  355;  his  Inferno, 
358,  362. 

Duff,  72. 

Dickens,  Charles,  74,  79,  222. 

Darkness  of  time  of  Christ's  ap- 
pearance, 76. 

David,  79 ;  his  life  wrecked  by  sin, 
150;  his  guilty  conscience,  152, 
251,  376. 

Divine  impulse  felt  through  society, 
107. 

Donatello,  no. 

Divine,  the,  solution,  no. 

Dying,  the,  gladiator,  117. 

Decline  of  art  in  the  I5th  century, 
118. 

Duty  and  responsibility  grounded 
in  man's  moral  constitution,  127. 

Different  temperaments  of  Christ's 
disciples,  130. 

Disciples,  the,  contained  the  germs 
of  all  denominations,  130;  all 
drawn  together  by  love  of  Christ 
from  within,  130. 

Dissolving  of  "systematic"  ice- 
bergs, 135. 

Difficulty  of  solving  nature's  sim- 
plest secrets,  140. 

Domitian,  142. 

Dignity,  the,  and  majesty  of  life, 
168. 

Definition  of  Calvary,  176. 


Difficulty  of  the  scientists'  task  in 
nature,  204. 

Distance  from  a  grain  of  sand  to 
Plato,  204. 

Darwin's  estimate  of  Fiske,  206; 
closing  words  of  his  "  Origin  of 
Species,"  209,  210;  his  assump- 
tion of  a  "  World  Genius,"  214. 

Doctrine  of  creation  by  gradualism, 

212. 

Development  of  infantile  life,  216. 

Drummond's  summary  of  vestigial 
structures  found  in  man,  217; 
his  beautiful  confession,  307. 

Doctrine  of  human  brotherhood, 
219. 

Doctrine,  the,  of  regeneration  the 
doctrine  of  salvation,  221. 

Dawn,  the,  of  the  day,  226. 

Duty  one  with  joy  and  beauty,  230. 

Distance  from  Jacob  to  John,  242. 

Dawn  after  night  of  moral  dark- 
ness, 242. 

Decrease  of  fear  and  superstition, 
260. 

Doubts  engendered  by  the  vast- 
ness  of  problems,  264;  caused 
by  trouble  and  disaster,  266; 
caused  by  intolerance  and  dog- 
matism, 270;  some  doubts  tem- 
peramental, 270;  some  caused  by 
sin,  271 ;  some  caused  by  callow 
crudeness,  272;  some  caused  by 
indecision,  272. 

Death  clothed  in  allurement,  309; 
in  what  death  consists,  393. 

Dark,  the,  river  but  a  ribbon,  309. 

Departments  of  knowledge  now 
specialized,  315. 

Differences  in  character  of  the  apos- 
tles, 318. 

Disobedience  to  law,  326. 

Destruction  of  art  treasures,  326. 

Doubts  of  some,  341;  others  be- 
lieve and  wonder,  341. 

Distance  from  Moses  to  Christ,  350. 

Daily  punishments  and  rewards, 
353- 


Index 


403 


Diocletian,  342. 

Destiny  of  them  that  are  wise,  367. 
Development  of  the  book  and  li- 
brary, 374. 

Dark  ages  of  degradation,  380. 
Duty  departed    from    conscience, 

39°- 

Demagogue,  the,  391. 
Desirability  of  every  one  uniting 

with  a  church,  395. 


English  pulpit,  the,  8. 

Emerson,  23;  his  message,  24; 
ministers  in  his  family  through 
seven  generations,  31 ;  his  com- 
ment on  the  ruling  class  of  Eng- 
land and  America,  230,  277. 

Effect,  of  the  withdrawal  of  Christi- 
anity, 56;  of  Christ's  teachings 
on  art  and  architecture  in  Italy, 
71 ;  of  uncertainty  and  anxiety, 
144;  of  confidence  and  trust  upon 
a  town  loafer,  163;  of  Christian 
evolution  upon  immortality,  223, 
of  ambition,  323;  of  taxes  on 
the  people  of  France  in  the 
i8th  Century,  323. 

Emancipation  of  slaves,  72. 

Errors  of  man  as  builder  and 
writer,  scientist  and  inventor,  and 
moral  teacher,  114. 

Errors  and  fallacies  of  former  times, 

122. 

Every  important  principle  retained 
if  all  differences  in  denominations 
obliterated,  131. 

Emphasis  in  our  age  of  nature's 
silence  and  mystery,  141. 

Eliot's,  George,  view,  143. 

Ease  of  great  men's  achievements, 

145- 

Evidences  of  nature's  speech,  148. 
Ephesus,  173. 
Exaltation  of  our  idea  of  God  as 

we  increase  in  wisdom,  182. 
Each  new  glimpse  of  God  a  new 

soul  window,  183. 


Evolution,  a  vision  of  possible 
method  of  progress,  203 ;  the  key 
that  reveals  God  in  nature,  206; 
the,  of  evolution,  206 ;  what  evo- 
lution is,  211 ;  how  it  has  changed 
our  idea  of  man,  216;  what  it 
has  done  for  time,  236;  changes 
wrought  by  this  theory,  236;  al- 
legiance now  given  to  it  by 
colleges,  universities,  and  semi- 
naries, 236;  in  symbols  and 
pictorial  emblems,  242. 

Each  new  day  a  creative  day,  212. 

Exaltation  of  God  by  theory  of 
Christian  evolution,  215. 

Evidences  in  nature  of  life  through 
death,  224. 

Euclid's  infallibility,  252. 

Each  new  fact  another  round  in  the 
ladder  of  truth,  276. 

Errors  now  being  swept  away,  277. 

Every  word  condensed  history  and 
poetry,  288. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  331, 359 ;  quo- 
tations from  his  works,  360,  362. 

Each  must  go  according  to  his 
own  temperament,  334,  335. 

Education  found  in  forecast  and 
preparation  for  the  future  life, 
340. 

Every  day  a  judgment  day,  344. 

Existence    a    victory    after    fierce 

%ht.  35*- 

Every  teaching  of  Christ  outraged 
by  Dante  and  Michael  Angelo, 

359- 

Euphrates,  372. 
Enlargement  of  the  little  room  of 

worship  into  the  great  abbey,  375. 
Era,  of  enthusiasm  for  ecclesiastical 

architecture,  377;   of  Augustus, 

380;   of  renewed  power  for  the 

church,  381. 

Enthusiasm  now  waning,  382. 
Excess,  an,  of  preaching,  392. 
Evening,  the,  service,  394. 
Enormous  improvement  in  the  new 

method,  394. 


404 


Index 


Exhortation  to  all  to  preserve  the 
church  relationship  wherever 
they  may  be,  396. 


Froude,  8. 

Foundation  of  all  moral  instruc- 
tion, 16. 

Free,  the,  laborer,  22. 

Francis  of  Assisi,  69. 

From  Gethsemane  and  Calvary  to 
the  Ascension,  78. 

Ferguson,  80. 

Fascination,  of  the  religious  prob- 
lem, 80, 343;  in  picture  of  Monica 
and  Augustine,  341. 

Force  and  consequences  of  Christ's 
career,  93. 

Fatherhood,  the,  of  God,  no. 

Fatalism,  124. 

Fear,  of  the  new  teachings,  134; 
provocative  to  progress,  190, 319 ; 
an  alarm  bell,  320;  as  manifested 
in  our  day,  321 ;  a  root  virtue, 
321 ;  a  low  motive,  321 ;  a  sub- 
base,  321 ;  it  still  needs  a  place 
in  our  theology,  331. 

False  theology  with  reference  to 
man,  162. 

Forces  of  nature  and  man's  con- 
quest of  them,  175;  their  ministry 
to  man,  175. 

Few  "all-round"  men  in  history, 
186. 

Flight  from  penalty  an  ignoble 
motive,  194. 

Fiske's  view  of  science  and  Chris- 
tianity, 207. 

Fairbairn,  210. 

Faith,  forbidden  to  outrun  facts, 
258 ;  only  winged  reason,  261 ; 
a  sensitive  plant,  271. 

Five  sons  of  supreme  genius, — 
illustrations  used  by  them,  282. 

Functions  of  reason  and  imagina- 
tion, 285;  methods  of  their  arrival 
at  their  goals,  286. 

Famous  Roman  roads,  294. 


Former,  the,  view  of  judgment,  344. 

Final,  the,  judgment  as  represented 
by  Dante  and  Michael  Angelo, 
358. 

Further  words  of  personified  wis- 
dom, 365. 

Fortitude  and  heroism  of  the  early 
Christians,  379. 

Felicita,  379. 

Foundations  of  Venice,  387. 


Geneva,  8. 

Great  thoughts  make  great  thinkers, 
10. 

Gladstone,  life  of,  17 ;  wish  to  dedi- 
cate closing  years  to  study  of 
Christ's  teachings,  47,  302,  317. 

God's  government  of  man,  20;  His 
plan  and  purpose,  57 ;  His  power 
pervading  everything,  77 ;  God 
the  soul's  father,  82;  the  same 
through  all  ages,  83 ;  revealed  by 
object  lessons  to  man,  103;  His 
providence  in  history,  104;  the 
heart  of  God,  104;  His  patience, 
encouragement,  and  sympathy  as 
revealed  in  Christ,  106;  his  gen- 
tleness, truth,  and  purity,  as  so 
revealed,  106;  God  an  infinite 
father,  125 ;  God  in  nature  work- 
ing toward  variety,  134;  God 
abroad  in  His  world,  134;  God 
drawing  near  the  earth,  135; 
God's  presence  makes  earth  ra- 
diant, 136;  God's  voice,  153- 
his  revelation  through  himself, 
153;  God  the  same  to  all  men  in 
all  ages,  154,  155 ;  God's  love  for 
man,  176;  His  throne  seen  as  a 
throne  of  mercy,  182 ;  regarded 
as  force,  188 ;  interpretation  by 
mighty  movements  in  nature, 
188 ;  His  love  over  all,  198 ;  the 
world  father,  198 ;  His  name  gran- 
aries all  our  treasures,  199 ;  His 
power  drawing  all  things  to  Him- 
self, 207;  God  abolished  for  a 


Index 


405 


time  from  earthly  mechanism, 
214 ;  God  a  colossal  Titan  to  the 
Greeks,  216;  His  resources  infi- 
nite for  the  darkened  multitude, 
226 ;  God  first  exhibited  as  power 
and  fear,  274 ;  His  approval  of  the 
work  of  reason,  261 ;  His  relation 
to  us  as  father  and  friend,  273 ; 
His  universal  compassion,  333; 
filling  each  want,  333 ;  God's  uni- 
verse one,  and  moral,  351 ;  God 
the  invisible  general  marshalling 
society  forward,  386. 

Great  spiritual  principles  of  Jesus 
Christ  the  most  powerful  stimu- 
lants to  material  civilization,  22. 

Great,  the,  novelists,  25. 

Greek  education,  42. 

"  Golden,  the,  age,"  49. 

Guizot,  50;  his  testimony  to  the  in- 
tellect of  Moses,  291. 

German  poem-legend  of  transfor- 
mation, 53. 

Garibaldi's  call  to  his  soldiers,  67. 

Grecian,  the,  feast  of  harvest,  68. 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  72,  222; 
his  victory  over  slavery,  262. 

Gray's  "Elegy,"  118. 

Geike,  147. 

Greatness  a  birth  gift,  168. 

Goethe's  "Faust,"  174;  his  testi- 
mony to  the  intellect  of  Moses, 
291. 

Government  by  force  and  fear,  189. 

Governmental  conception  of  deity, 

193- 

Geologist's,  the,  search,  205. 

Galileo,  208. 

Grandeur  of  the  new  conceptions, 
209. 

Growth  of  the  moral  sentiment 
against  theft,  240;  of  the  senti- 
ment of  truth,  241. 

Gradual  development  of  the  idea 
of  God,  250;  from  Abraham's 
idea  of  God  to  that  of  God  in 
Christ,  250. 

Gibbon,  274. 


Golden,  the,  rule,  252. 

Government  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
330. 

Gravity  of  the  problem  of  the  life 
to  come,  339. 

Great  distance  back  to  our  fore- 
fathers, 373. 

n 

History  of  social  progress,  7,  8. 

Holmes,  18,  315. 

Hopkins's,  President,  view  of 
prayer,  27. 

History  no  mausoleum,  42. 

Huss,  John,  42,  116. 

Hampden,  43,  72,  90,  95. 

Herculaneum,  49. 

Human  brotherhood,  51. 

Handel,  56,  65;  his  "Messiah," 
230;  his  need  of  full  orchestra 
for  expression,  344 ;  his  theme 
cannot  be  interpreted  in  part, 

359- 

Heart's,  the,  hunger  for  heroes,  67 ; 
its  hunger  for  a  revelation  of  God, 
252. 

Herod,  76. 

How  one  scientist  turned  from 
agnosticism  to  faith,  81. 

Heine,  83. 

Hegel,  83, 119. 

Heroic  names,  as  Cromwell,  Hamp- 
den, and  Pym,  90. 

Homage  and  conquest,  103. 

"  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  118. 

Hamlet,  119,  166,  251. 

Huxley's  desire  to  create  an  altar 
"  to  the  unknown  God,"  141, 299, 
306. 

Human,  the,  mind  still  an  unknown 
land,  160. 

Herschel's  idea,  171. 

Hercules,  182,  376. 

Humboldt's  "  Cosmos,"  183,  263. 

Hawthorne's  comparison  of  Jona- 
than Edwards's  words  with  those 
of  Christ,  195. 

History,  a,  of  the  divine  footprints, 
203. 


406 


Index 


Historian's,  the,  search,  205. 
Howard,  222,  317. 
Higher,  the,  criticism,  237. 
History,  a,  of  the  evolution  of  the 

moral  sense,  252. 
Homer's    Iliad    as    supposititious 

illustration,  276, 282. 
Henry,  Patrick,  at  Williamsburg, 

284. 

Herodotus,  explorations  of,  314. 
Hired,  the,  Persian  troops,  332. 
Hodge's,  Dr.  Archibald,  statement 

of  doctrine  of  reprobation,  361. 
Hale,  his  decisions,  376. 
Hour,  the,   of  worship   a   protest 

against  the  life  that  creeps  and 

crawls,  387. 
Heroes  and  fathers  of  yesterday, 

3* 

Influence,  of  the  pulpit,  8 ;  of  war, 
politics,  commerce,  law,  science, 
and  government,  9 ;  of  the  press, 
17 ;  of  Achilles's  example,  42 ;  of 
Christ's  teachings  upon  happi- 
ness and  character,  48  ;  of  per- 
sons greater  than  of  abstractions, 
95 ;  of  Cromwell  and  Hampden 
on  England,  95  ;  of  Washington, 
Adams,  and  Jefferson  on  Amer- 
ica, 95;  the,  of  environment 
universal,  99;  in  the  state,  the 
beautiful,  and  higher  education, 

332. 

Indians  at  Carlisle,  50. 
Indian  sacrifices  and  superstitions, 

5°- 

India,  55 ;  coming  conditions,  58. 
Ideals  for  the  future,  60. 
Innocence  and  character,  69. 
Indebtedness  to  Christ  of  Dante, 

Raphael,   Michael  Angelo,   and 

Milton,  71. 
"  In  Memoriam,"  72. 
Ignorance    and    fear,    76;    of  the 

clergy  in  the  ages  of  degradation, 

380;  of  the  Ten  Commandments, 

392. 


Inequalities  in  this  life,  85. 
Inspiration  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 

95- 

Instincts,  the,  of  animals,  96,  146; 
of  the  vegetable  world,  146. 

Imperfections  of  man's  achieve- 
ments, 114. 

In  Christ  God's  silence  breaks  fully 
forth,  154. 

Incident  related  by  Emerson  of  So- 
journer  Truth,  183. 

Intelligence  the  mainspring  of  the 
newspaper  and  printing-press, 
191. 

Impotence  of  the  conceptions  of 
law  to  satisfy  human  reason,  192. 

Interpretation  of  God  through 
fatherhood,  197. 

Infinite,  the,  mind  far  above  the 
world's  beauty,  197 ;  treasures  in- 
cluded in  the  name  of  God,  292. 

Illustration,  of  the  old  scholastic 
view  of  God,  220;  of  nature's 
method  of  work,  267 ;  from  word 
"  sarcasm,"  288 ;  from  word  "  sin- 
cere," 289;  from  word  "trivial," 
289. 

Increase  of  knowledge  through  use 
of  reason,  260. 

Illustrations  of  God  developed  from 
social  conditions  and  institutions, 
292. 

Insecurity  of  property  in  dark  era, 

293- 
Illustration,    of   the   monkey   and 

painted    fire,    301 ;    from    Latin 

poet,  325. 

Investment  of  generosity,  324. 
Increase  of  life  as  the  scale  mounts 

upward,  346. 
Internal  court  of  justice  always  with 

man.  353- 

Inevitableness  of  penalty  in  nature, 
356. 

Interest,  in  origins  and  beginnings, 
372 ;  on  the  part  of  all  classes  in 
England,  383 ;  in  our  country 
among  the  higher  classes,  384. 


Index 


407 


Importance  of  early  beginnings  to 
historians  and  philosophers,  373. 
Ignatius,  379. 

J 

Jean  Paul,  8. 

John's  vision  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem, 25. 

Joy,  the,  of  helping  and  enlighten- 
ing those  in  doubt  and  darkness, 

36. 

Juvenal,  48,  152. 

John,  ss,  69,  318 ;  at  Patmos,  343 ; 
his  dream  regarding  Ephesus, 
343;  his  need  of  imagery,  344, 
396. 

Judas,  84. 

Job,  86 ;  his  pathetic  words,  298. 

Jefferson,  95. 

Jacquard,  118 ;  his  loom,  214. 

Jerusalem,  140. 

Jupiter,  182. 

Jacob,  240. 

Jewish  festivals,  attendance  on  the 
great  national  feasts,  245 ;  great 
deeds  rehearsed,  245. 

Jonah's  testimony  to  God's  mercy, 
248 ;  his  story,  249 ;  what  it  rep- 
resents, 249. 

Jowett's,  Prof.,  reply  to  the  young 
student,  272. 

James,  318. 

Judgment  become  victory,  365. 

K 

King  James  version,  8. 

Knowledge,  universal,  15. 

Xing,  Starr,  31. 

Keats,  42. 

Kean,  Edmund,  75. 

Kant's  view  of  nature's  warnings, 

151- 

Keplar,  208. 

Knowledge  through  faith,  263. 
Kelvin,  Lord,  301. 
Knowledge  a  vast  mosaic,  316. 
Knox,  381. 
Keble's  estimate  of  the  Sabbath, 

382. 


Literary  standards  of  perfection,  9. 

Luther,  10, 17, 19, 69, 72 ;  his  theses, 
95,  116,  123,  381,  396. 

Life,  a  university,  13. 

Library,  a,  a  graveyard,  17. 

Lowell,  23 ;  his  "  Vision  of  Sir 
Launfal,"  24;  his  influence  upon 
social  reform,  24,  31,  47,  283. 

Longfellow,  31,  47, 118. 

Limitations  upon  the  politician, 
merchant,  lawyer,  and  press,  34. 

Lincoln,  43,  79;  meaning  of  his 
name,  91 ;  his  faith,  125,  140 ;  as 
approached  by  traitor,  soldier, 
secretary,  and  his  own  child,  198, 
230 ;  at  Gettysburg,  284, 302, 342, 
376. 

Lucian,  48. 

Lecky's  "  ten  vices,"  49. 

Lazarus,  52. 

Levelling  power  of  Christianity,  52. 

Long  time  required  for  develop- 
ment of  ideals,  60. 

Liberty,  72. 

Livingstone,  72 ;  his  faith,  125,  222, 

334-  396- 

Leadership  from  the  common  peo- 
ple, 79. 

La  Place,  85. 

Law,  of  surroundings,  98 ;  of  en- 
vironment has  no  influence  on 
Christ's  career,  98;  the,  of  the 
spiritual  harvest,  352 ;  what  would 
happen  if  it  were  thoroughly 
understood,  352. 

Long  time  required  for  progress, 
material  and  spiritual,  115. 

Lear,  119. 

Loyola,  123,  174. 

Laws,  the,  of  right  and  wrong,  128 ; 
fundamental  and  constitutional, 
whether  denied  or  accepted,  129 ; 
as  organized  thoughts,  191 ;  the, 
invariable,  347 ;  prohibiting  theft, 

349- 

Light,  the,  growing,  136;  thrown 
by  evolution  on  the  problem  oi 


408 


Index 


sinfulness,  219 ;  thrown  on  trans- 
muted laws,  300;  thrown  on  de- 
velopment of  conscience  and 
growth  of  moral  ideas,  349. 

Losses  of  our  generation,  141. 

Loss  of  faith  in  a  personal  God, 
142. 

Lucretius,  152. 

Longstroth,  165. 

Legend,  the,  of  the  lost  Atlantis, 

173- 
Luxuriant  weeds  argue  richness  of 

soil,  174. 

Limit,  the,  of  fear,  190. 

Le  Comte,  217. 

Line,  the,  of  perpetual  storm,  220. 

Layard,  263. 

Legend  of  the  Christmas  night,  302. 

Leibnitz,  315. 

Limitations  of  man's  career,  316. 

Love  casting  out  fear,  327  ;  love  a 
prophet,  329 ;  love  revealing  im- 
mortality, 329. 

Liddon  331. 

Life  depends  on  correspondence 
with  environment,  346. 

Life's  inequalities,  266 ;  great  prob- 
lem, 350. 

Like  produces  like  in  the  realm  of 
character,  359. 

Light  of  science  has  reconciled 
contradictions,  362. 

Linnaeus,  373. 

Luxury  with  increase  of  wealth,  390. 

M 

Man's  development,  time  required, 
everything  educive,  4,  5;  his 
original  ignorance,  5 ;  his  re- 
sponse to  the  elevation  of  Christ, 
45 ;  man  a  miniature  of  God,  82 ; 
his  soul  keyed  to  God's  mind, 
82 ;  his  control  of  beasts  and  ele- 
ments, 96 ;  his  difficulty  in  living 
with  his  fellows,  96;  his  alpha- 
betic faculties,  96;  his  divine 
traits  and  moods.  96 ;  his  tongue 
a  weapon,  97;  his  luminous 


hours,  107;  his  appeal  for  help 
109 ;  his  life  long  enough  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  Christ, 
120;  man  the  child  of  destiny, 
125 ;  man  the  child  of  genius  be- 
cause the  child  of  God,  127; 
man  pledged  to  integrity,  128 ;  his 
greatest  misfortunes,  142;  man 
made  for  confidence,  144;  his 
questionings,  153;  a  little  lower 
than  God,  159;  his  elevation 
above  the  beasts,  164;  his  dis- 
tance from  the  highest  animal, 
165  ;  man's  journey  upward  by 
rapid  strides,  165;  his  crowning 
excellences,  167 ;  man  responsi- 
ble, 167 ;  his  memory  continuous, 
167 ;  his  vastness  of  nature,  167 ; 
he  duplicates  God,  170;  his  near- 
ness to  God,  171 ;  his  reckless 
iconoclasm,  173;  his  infinite 
worth  the  explanation  of  Christ, 
176;  his  diverse  conceptions  of 
God,  181 ;  man's  real  riches,  188; 
man  ruled  by  hope  and  love,  189 ; 
by  fear  and  force,  when  he  de- 
nies the  higher  law,  189;  his 
thoughts  of  God  grow  with  his 
growth,  215 ;  his  union  of  lower 
forms,  217;  his  unwillingness  to 
believe  in  evolution,  218;  his 
longings  for  one  who  cares,  304 ; 
his  task  not  simple  like  the  in- 
stinct of  animals,  333;  his  long- 
ings for  help  and  guidance,  364. 

Milton,  8,  54, 56,  71,  230 ;  Paradise, 
23°.  355.  362,  376, 396. 

Miiller,  8,  85. 

Moses,  9,  79,  116,  128;  laws  166, 
222,  251,  282;  use  of  the  courts 
of  the  temple,  290. 

Modern  devices  for  increase  of 
knowledge,  training  of  taste  and 
imagination  by  printer  and  pho- 
tographer, kindergarten,  public 
and  private  schools,  new  forms 
of  education,  manual  training 
schools,  12, 


Index 


409 


Motley,  31. 

Measure  of  civilization  for  a  nation, 

43- 

Martineau's,  James,  view  of  Christ. 
46,  152;  his  questionings,  192; 
his  admission,  299;  Harriet, 
view,  143. 

Memphis,  49. 

Monster  vices,  50. 

Maine's,  Sir  Henry,  law  works,  58. 

Multitudes,  the,  coming  to  Christ, 
68. 

Magdalen,  72. 

Mariamne,  77. 

Murder  of  the  innocents,  77. 

Millet,  80,  153. 

Mankind's  latent  talents,  85. 

Matthew's  emphasis  of  Christ's 
name,  89. 

Meaning,  of  Lincoln's  name,  91 ;  of 
Whittier's,  91 ;  of  Florence  Night- 
ingale's, 91 ;  of  "  the  way,"  294 ; 
of  God's  name  for  Huxley, 
Spencer,  and  Arnold,  299. 

Museum,  a  possible,  of  religious 
record,  115. 

Maze,  the,  at  Hampton  Court,  119. 

Men  as  ambassadors  from  God's 
court,  127. 

Motive,  the,  of  duty,  128. 

Mill's,  John  Stuart,  indictment  of 
nature,  142;  his  reference  to  his 
father,  143;  his  testimony  to  an 
intelligent  creation,  246;  his 
tragedy  of  doubt,  266. 

Masters  in  art,  literature,  law,  and 
philosophy,  145. 

Mischief  wrought  upon  society 
through  false  views,  162. 

Messiah,  the,  166. 

Marbles,  the,  of  Ephesus,  173. 

Monarchical  idea,  182. 

Mountains  pictured  only  in  sec- 
tions, 185. 

Monarch,  the,  the  type  and  symbol 
of  God,  193. 

McCosh,  210  ;  his  statement,  216. 

Maxwell's,  clerk,  statement,  21^. 


Mentality  and  spirituality  now  en- 
grafted upon  man,  218. 

Mystery  of  God's  apparent  silence 
through  so  many  ages,  225. 

Macaulay,  231 ;  his  words  regard- 
ing the  church,  381. 

Man  left  for  a  while  to  form  his  own 
career,  259. 

Magician  in  the  "Arabian  Nights," 

275- 

Miller's,  Hugh,  system  of  geology, 
285. 

Mosaic,  the,  economy  a  system  of 
symbols  and  pictures,  289;  a 
system  of  mnemonics,  291. 

March  of  the  ten  thousand,  301. 

Motives  acting  upon  the  soul,  319; 
self-interest,  322;  the  desire  for 
precedence,  322. 

Monica,  341. 

Measure  of  life  the  measure  of  rela- 
tion and  correspondence,  347. 

Moral  conquests  of  the  early  Chris- 
tian church,  379. 

Melancthon,  381. 

Modern  methods  of  employing  the 
Sabbath,  382. 

N 

Necessity  for  Christian  organiza- 
tion, 27. 

Need  of  revival  of  the  moral  im- 
perative, 29. 

Nightingale,  Florence,  44;  meaning 
of  her  name,  91,  344. 

Napoleon's  words,  58,  94,  98,  322. 

Novelists'  pleas  for  the  poor  and 
weak,  72. 

Newton's  theory  of  gravitation,  79, 
80;  his  Principle,"  118,  128,  147, 
168,  235 ;  superiority  of  his  genius 
to  the  forces  he  discovered,  176, 
182,  185;  his  theory  in  his  gen- 
eration, 208 ;  his  ground  for  con- 
fidence in  his  theory,  259;  his 
discoveries,  262,  263 ;  his  mind, 
266;  his  system  of  astronomy, 
285. 3*5 I  h'S  philosophy,  376, 385. 


410 


Index 


Nature's  testimony  regarding  im- 
mortal life,  84;  her  simplicities, 
117;  her  concealments  number- 
less and  wonderful,  139;  after 
ages  her  problems  still  the  same, 
140 ;  she  accustoms  man  to  cer- 
tainty, 145;  nature  becoming 
a  vast  whispering  gallery,  147; 
not  silent  on  right  living,  148; 
nature's  alarum,  149 ;  constant  in 
her  warnings,  151 ;  she  portrays 
God  and  man,  176 ;  she  maintains 
order  by  law,  191 ;  her  voice  the 
voice  of  God,  248 ;  she  wastes 
nothing,  265 ;  nature's  as  well  as 
Christ's  message,  352;  her  pen- 
alties medicinal,  357. 

Names  epitomes  of  life,  90;  neces- 
sary for  distinctiveness,  90 ;  some 
endure,  others  perish,  91 ;  appro- 
priate and  inappropriate,  91 ; 
new,  the,  name,  91 ;  names  alone 
survive  in  time,  92. 

Negations  in  Christ's  career,  93. 

Nothing  perfect,  114. 

No  pretentious  heroes,  117. 

Need  of  the  best  spiritual  guidance, 
119. 

No  escape  from  responsibility,  128. 

Number  of  our  denominations,  131. 

Nero,  142,  342. 

No  advance  in  bees  or  monkeys, 
165. 

No  intelligence  in  animals  beyond 
their  wants,  166. 

No  culture  can  change  the  nature, 
168. 

No  music  for  one  who  cannot  hear, 
183. 

Natural  law  overworked,  191. 

Niebuhr,  263. 

No  result  without  a  cause,  268. 

No  danger  from  assaults  upon 
Christian  faith,  276. 

New  illustrations  of  God  in  nature, 
291. 

Necessity  for  choice  of  excellence 
and  occupation,  317, 


No  magician  like  love,  329, 
Number  of  possible  paths  open  to 

man,  333. 
No  handbook  to  choice  of  life  work, 

334- 
Number  and  beauty  of  life's  streams 

to-day,  335. 
Negative  laws  changed  to  positive 

moralities,  350. 
Nile,  the,  372. 
New,  a,  social  order,  388 ;   troubles 

of  the  working  classes,  388. 
Need  of  the  church  by  the  poor, 

388. 
Non-church,  the,  goer,  391. 


Only  true  power  from  within,  the, 

20,  21. 
Over-production  and  under-hunger, 

22. 
One  of  the  difficulties  of  modern 

preaching,  23. 
Offerings    made    to    princes,   and 

knowledge  proffered  to  the  young, 

69. 
Orators    made    eloquent    through 

Christ,  71. 
Optimism,  76. 

Obscurity  of  Christ's  birthplace,  92. 
Only,  the,  true    help    a    changed 

nature  within,  109. 
Old-time  treatment  of  witnesses  and 

heretics,  115. 
Old,  the,  and  the  new  views  of  God, 

121 ;  view  of  the  fall  undermined, 

216;  farmer's  verdict,  272;  the- 
ory of  fortuitous  concourse,  276; 

teachings  fragmentary,  358. 
Outward  expression  of  every  inward 

thought,  149. 
Our  vision  of  God  only  fragmentary, 

185. 
One  form  of  manhood  exalted  above 

all  others,  186. 
Origin  of  the  governmental  view  of 

deity  in  the  Middle  Ages,  193. 


Index 


411 


Obedience  became  a  form  of  self- 
interest,  194. 

Opportunities  in  a  future  life,  225. 

Our  refusal  to  recognize  our  true 
relation  to  God,  273. 

Onward  march  of  the  philosophers, 
301. 

Over-abundance  of  our  world's 
treasure,  313. 

Our  vision  of  the  world  constantly 
enlarged  during  each  age,  314. 

Obedience,  to  laws  in  nature,  325 ; 
to  law  the  ground  of  progress 
and  success,  327 ;  to  the  laws  of 
exercise  and  nutrition  increase 
life,  347 ;  is  freedom  and  achieve- 
ment, 357. 

Ours  a  moral  universe,  363. 

Our  unfortunate  national  reputa- 
tion, 384. 

Over-indulgence  in  preaching,  393. 


Preaching,  what  it  is,  its  basis,  3, 4; 
an  extension  of  conversation,  16 ; 
its  nature  and  functions,  20;  not 
difficult  in  old  times,  now  the 
preacher  must  be  a  universal 
scholar,  32 ;  his  daily  and  yearly 
task,  33 ;  the  demands  upon  nerve 
and  brain,  33 ;  strain  of  delivery 
upon  Robertson,  Channing,  and 
Bushnell,  34;  the  profession  its 
own  reward,  34;  none  that  holds 
such  happiness,  37. 

Plutarch's  comment,  7,  42. 

Puritan  pulpits,  9. 

Pulpit,  the,  one  of  the  great  forces 
of  social  progress,  9 ;  its  past 
secure,  n;  is  it  declining?  n  ; 
injury  to  the  pulpit,  16;  the  pulpit 
the  guide,  hope,  friend,  and  sup- 
port of  the  people,  18. 

Prophets  of  yesterday  social  leaders 
of  to-day,  9. 

Paul's  principle,  10. 

Paul,  16,  55,  69 ;  his  prophecy  re- 
garding Christ's  name,  92,  no, 


116,  129,  282, 318, 342 ;  letter  from 
the  Mamertine  prison  the  origin 
of  church  assemblies,  374,  396. 

Practical  life  also  a  university,  14. 

Plato,  16,  17;  his  pre-Christian 
statement  as  to  the  function  of 
preaching,  30,  75,  94,  102,  109; 
his  statement  of  the  Greek  impres- 
sion of  nature's  beauty,  126,  165 ; 
his  "  Republic,"  166. 

Power,  the,  of  books,  17. 

Peter  the  Hermit,  19. 

Passing,  of  great  poets  such  as 
Longfellow,  Lowell,  Bryant,  and 
Whittier,  31 ;  of  historians  such 
as  Bancroft,  Motley,  and  Prescott, 
31 ;  of  ministers  like  Channing, 
Starr  King,  Swing,  Beecher,  and 
Brooks,  31. 

Power  and  limitations,  of  the  law, 
35 ;  of  the  physician,  35. 

Pitt,  42. 

Pericles,  43,  118,  232. 

Phidias,  43 ;  his  marbles,  74,  92, 
120,  173  ;  the  beauty  of,  184,  232, 
251,  326. 

Pallas  Athene,  44. 

Pliny,  48,  49. 

Pompeii,  49 ;  her  warnings,  149. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  50. 

Painters,  55. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  56,  72,  222 ;  at 
Faneuil  Hall,  284,  326. 

Prodigal  Son,  the,  75 ;  he  was  not 
made  for  rags  and  husks,  174. 

Pessimism,  76. 

Passion,  for  theology,  80;  for  the 
antique  in  our  own  land,  372. 

Pym,  90. 

Prophets  and  heroes  of  Christianity, 

95- 
Philosophical  systems  of  Plato  and 

Bacon,  102. 
Philosopher's,  the,  view  of  God  as 

revealed    through    Christ,    105; 

exhortations  and  Christ's  pictured 

admonition,  286. 
Progress  of  tbe  fightagainst  §jn,  108. 


412 


Index 


Peter's  sin,  no. 
Parthenon,  the,  117,  173. 
Preference  in  England  for  Long- 
fellow rather  than  Browning,  118. 
Pantheistic  teachings,  124. 
Pascal's  faith,  125 ;   his  "  Morals," 

376. 
Prophecies  of  what  man  shall  be, 

126. 

Proctor,  147 ;  his  computations,  264. 
Park  and  the  Caribbean  Isles,  151. 
Pity  unknown  in  the  animal  realm, 

166. 
Philanthropy  a  development  in  man 

alone,  166. 

Pure,  the,  in  heart  see  God,  184. 
Parental  love  for  the  babe,  197; 

unchanging    through    the    later 

years,  in  the  face  of  folly,  vice,  or 

crime,  197. 

Passing  of  the  storm,  209. 
Progressive    development    of    the 

idea  of  God  in  the  Scriptures,  216. 
Projections  of  reason  and  faith  into 

unseen  realms,  262. 
Partial  knowledge  involved  in  great 

size,  269 ;  and  richness  shown  in 

these  limitations,  269. 
Philosophy  of  the  supremacy  of  the 

parable,  285. 
Poor,  a,  substitute  for  Christianity, 

300. 
Poets,  the,  and  their  imagination, 

306. 
Position  of  tombs  changed  since 

Christ's  death,  307. 
Problem,  the,  of  the  bad  man,  350; 

of  the  good  man,  351. 
Proverbs,  the  Book  of  Wisdom ,  355 ; 

its  personification    of  Wisdom, 

355- 

Penalties  of  transgression  inflec- 
tions of  pity  and  kindness,  356. 

Pictures  of  Dante  and  Milton  show 
only  one  fragment  of  the  truth, 

359- 

Partial  conceptions  of  the  Calvin- 
istic  theologians,  359. 


Penalty  of  our  neglect  of  Christ,  367. 
Philemon,  375. 
Perpetua,  379. 
Polycarp,  379. 

Q 

Questionings,  of  man's  mind,  104 ; 
of  man's  origin,' 164;  of  the  Al- 
mighty, 267. 

Qualities  and  acquirements  that  are 
good  but  secondary,  187. 


Right  living,  the  church  a  univer- 
sity of  morals,  6. 

Romeo  and  Juliet,  18. 

Ruskin,  23 ;  his  exhortation  on  the 
importance  of  character,  24,  25 ; 
his  sarcastic  version  of  the  Ten 
Commandments,  20,30 ;  his  state- 
ment of  the  pulpit's  influence  in 
modern  times,  36,  75;  dedica- 
tion of  his  life,  46,  72 ;  his  state- 
ment of  the  simplicity  of  God's 
revelation,  272. 

Reverence  for  the  Sabbath  and 
church,  28. 

Result  of  non-church-going,  29. 

Robertson,  34. 

Root  from  Africa  in  vineyards  of 
Spain,  43. 

Red  Cross  movement,  44. 

Response  of  nature  to  the  elevation 
of  Christ,  45. 

Rate  of  progress  since  Shake- 
speare's day,  59. 

Rome,  59. 

Ren  an,  66. 

Raphael,  71 ;  his  brurh,  327. 

Reward  and  punishment,  84. 

Reputation  of  Nazareth,  98. 

Ruined  state  of  relics  of  ancient 
art,  114. 

Reaction  from  excess  of  the  I4th 
century,  115. 

Reason  why  duty  is  binding  upon 
man,  129. 

Ruin  of  the  cities  of  Italy  through 
sin,  150, 


Index 


413 


Revelation  from  without  implies 
mind  within,  184. 

Ripeness  of  faculty  and  breadth  of 
outlook,  187. 

Regent,  the,  of  nature  the  Father 
who  forgives  and  guides,  199. 

Reasons  for  the  multiplicity  of  the 
student's  problems,  204. 

Romanes's  statement  regarding 
Christ's  universal  dominion,  207, 
210;  his  return  to  faith,  301. 

Reversal  of  the  "survival  of  the 
fittest "  principle  in  the  case  of 
man,  221. 

Result  of  the  broader  view  of  in- 
spiration, 251. 

Reason  man's  guide,  259;  reason 
in  the  realm  of  conscience  and 
duty,  261. 

Results  through  faith  in  all  depart- 
ments of  life,  263. 

Richness  of  the  "way"  as  symbol 
of  Christ,  298. 

Roman  orator's  hope,  308. 

Realm,  the,  of  conscience  and 
duty,  325. 

Religious  thinking  in  a  state  of 
transition,  330. 

Results  of  worldliness,  indifference, 
and  self-indulgence,  351. 

Response  of  brain  and  nerve,  355. 

Realities  substituted  by  science  for 
the  dreams  of  Dante  and  Milton, 
362. 

Repudiation  by  many  of  their  in- 
heritance, 383. 

Results  of  too  much  luxury,  383. 

Return  of  thoughtful  men  to  the 
church  service,  394. 

Renewed  influence  of  the  Sunday- 
school,  394. 

Religious,  the,  ceremonial  running 
all  through  society,  395. 


Shakespeare,  8,  22,  46;    his   com- 
mentators, 73;  only  shown  in  his 


best  works,  172,  236;  his  mind, 
266,  283. 

Saxon  idioms,  10;  civilization  de- 
rived from  the  Bible,  230. 

Sermon,  the,  on  the  Mount,  10,  48, 
74 ;  Burke's  view  of  it,  75. 

Seeds  planted  on  precipices,  14. 

Socrates,  16,  67,  69,  83 ;  his  words 
and  death,  86,  95,  116,  223,  236, 

342. 

Strawberries  in  June,  17. 

Schopenhauer,  18. 

Savonarola,  19,  116. 

Slave,  the,  states,  22. 

Stratford,  22. 

Shaftesbury,  Lord,  33. 

Spurgeon,  Charles,  23. 

Success  of  Christianity,  25. 

Strength  from  union,  27. 

Society  permeated  by  principle  of 
Christianity,  28. 

Swing,  31,  392. 

Soul,  the,  thrives  through  nourish- 
ment, 41 ;  only  perfectly  revealed 
in  its  highest  moments,  171 ;  to 
be  judged  by  its  best,  171 ;  a  harpi 
self-propelling,  354,  196. 

Shelley,  42,  150. 

Social  progress  through  lifting  up 
a  master,  43. 

Sahara  Desert,  55. 

Sculptors,  55. 

Schlegel,  Frederick,  57. 

Systems  of  the  past,  57. 

State  of  Christianity  at  John's  death 
at  Ephesus,  58. 

St.  Peter's,  71. 

Schools  and  colleges  founded,  72. 

Stimulus  of  Christ's  story,  73. 

Style,  what  it  is,  74. 

Stowe,  79,  222. 

Stevenson,  79. 

Supremacy  of  Christ's  view  of  God, 
80. 

Some  make  God  an  infinite  Watt, 
others  an  infinite  Newton  01 
Cuvier,  80. 

Story  of  an  amoeba,  81. 


414 


Index 


Spiritual,  the,  body  back  of  the 
physical,  81. 

Supremacy  of  Christ's  name  in 
right  living,  95. 

Shortness  of  Christ's  career,  101. 

Sin  and  temptation,  108. 

Saul,  no,  364. 

Simplicity  of  religion  to-day,  116 ;  a 
proof  of  greatness,  1 16;  the  sim- 
plicities of  art,  117;  simplicity  of 
Greek  dress,  117;  simplicity  in 
literature,  118;  simplicity  of  re- 
ligious thought  to  be  expected  in 
the  world's  greatest  teacher,  119. 

Sufferings  of  Huss,  116. 

Stanley,  119;  wagons  in  Africa 
clogged  by  tropic  flowers,  154; 
knowledge  derived  through  him, 

363- 

Solomon's  sacrifices  in  the  dedica- 
tion of  his  temple,  122;  his  life 
wrecked  by  sin,  150, 240 ;  his  rep- 
resentation of  brain  and  nerve 
speaking,  248. 

Scholastics,  the,  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  122. 

Scholasticism  in  Luther's  day,  123. 

Symbols  in  state  and  society,  132 ; 
those  which  represent  Christ,  132. 

Sympathy,  love,  and  fellowship  for 
all,  134. 

Savages,  the,  and  the  ice  bridge, 

135- 

Scholars,  the,  many  and  wise,  136. 

Silence  that  is  eloquent,  146. 

Seneca,  165. 

Secret,  the,  of  man's  vast  achieve- 
ments, 168. 

Scourging  and  allurement,  195. 

Sublime,  the,  view  of  Jesus  Christ, 

195- 

Spencer's,  Herbert,  praise  of  Ro- 
manes, 207,  210,  299;  pathos  of 
his  later  outlook,  300. 

Sin  a  concrete  personal  fact,  220. 

Sublimest  manifestations  of  the  law 
of  evolution  in  Jesus  Christ,  223. 

Science  verifying  Christ's  vision, 


223;    leading  all  back  to  faith, 

274. 

Slow  rise  of  the  moral  standard,  242. 
Society  in  the  time  of  Moses,  243 ; 

his  ceremonial  kindergarten,  243. 
Substitution    of   the    monotheistic 

idea,  247. 

Smallness  of  earth  and  man,  265. 
Statements  of  materialism,  293. 
Secularism,  268. 

Stevenson's  sarcastic  comment,  271. 
Skill  in  the  divine  art  of  illustration 

an  evidence  of  greatness,  282. 
Sacrifices    used    as    illustrations, 

290. 
Special  significance  of  "  way ''  and 

"  road  "  in  that  era,  293. 
Schiller's  thought,  296. 
Slow  progress  of  development  of 

man,  308;   his   creative  powers, 

308. 
Same,  the,  differences  in  the  church 

to-day,  318. 
"  Survival,  the,  of  the  fittest "  in  the 

lower  orders,  348. 
Solemnity,  the,  of  the  coming  judg- 
ment, 362. 
Stephen,  364. 
Sources,  the,  of  things  all  searched 

for  by  historians,  scientists,  and 

biologists,  372. 
Sistine,  the,  chapel,  375. 
Science,  the,  of  right  living,  386. 
Solemn  obligations  to  support  the 

Christian   workers    among    the 

poor,  390. 
Shame  of   those  who  have  been 

neither  for  nor  against  the  church, 

396.  T 

Tennyson,  8 ;  memoir,  16,  25,  47 ; 
his  faith,  125, 168;  and  the  cater- 
pillar, 170;  his  statement  of  man's 
latent  genius,  172;  his  question- 
ings, 265,  277,  301;  his  experi- 
ences in  search  of  Christ,  306, 
307.  334,  376. 

Tributes  to  the  pulpit  by  Tillotson, 


Index 


415 


Barrow,  Lord  Chatham,  Emer- 
son, and  Horace  Mann,  9. 

Technical  schools,  13. 

Truth  organized  into  personality, 
18 ;  its  force  in  personality,  19 ; 
truth  and  speech,  20. 

Teaching  often  automatic  through 
heredity,  34. 

Tell,  William,  43. 

Thebes,  49,  326. 

Titian,  56;  his  "Transfiguration," 
230. 

Ten,  the,  talent  men,  70. 

Toynbee,  Arnold,  72. 

Translations  of  Christ's  story  into 
foreign  tongues,  73. 

Thompson,  76. 

Testimony  regarding  immortal  life, 
84. 

Teachings,  of  Plato  and  Socrates 
of  different  order  from  those  of 
Christ,  103;  the,  of  agnosticism, 
124. 

Traveller,  the,  at  Athens  in  the 
studio  of  Phidias,  120. 

Torquemada,  123. 

Ten,  the,  Commandments,  128. 

Toleration  and  charity,  134. 

Temple,  the,  at  Jerusalem,  140; 
and  its  courts,  243 ;  its  sacrifices 
and  incense,  244 ;  its  feasts,  244. 

Tyndall,  154;  his  belief  in  God, 
214;  his  testimony  to  an  intelli- 
gent creation,  246,  306,  373. 

Treasures,  the,  of  life's  crystal  caves, 

173- 

Theories  all  broken  arcs  of  the 
circle  of  God's  love,  177. 

Terror  usually  inspired  by  new 
theories,  vide  Galileo,  Coperni- 
cus, Kepler,  and  Columbus,  208. 

Theory,  the,  of  "  devilution,"  210; 
of  sudden  action  of  divine  power, 
211 ;  called  "Christian  evolu- 
tion," 213;  of  judgment  day  re- 
stated in  terms  of  evolution,  345. 

Time  too  brief  for  full  development 
here,  224. 


Triumphant  praise  to  God  from 
earth  and  heaven,  226. 

Tides  of  national  enthusiasm,  245. 

Tragedy  of  the  doubters,  264. 

Thompson's,  Sir  William,  rank  and 
statement,  274. 

Truth,  the,  waiting  for  discovery, 
276. 

Three,  the,  supreme  scenes  in 
American  eloquence,  284. 

Transition  to  next  world  made  joy- 
ful through  Christ,  309. 

Taxes  heavy  in  France  in  the  i8th 
century,  323. 

Transition  from  fear  to  love  in  the 
human  race,  329. 

Theology  of  a  rude  age,  330. 

Tremendous  statement  still  in- 
cluded in  its  Confession  of  Faith 
by  one  of  great  denomination,  360. 

Temple  of  Diana,  372. 

Treasures  to  enrich  our  cathedrals, 

377- 

Telemachus  and  his  influence  in 
ending  gladiatorial  shows,  378. 

Tendency  to  excess  in  everything, 
393- 

Trying  period  in  the  church's  his- 
tory, 395. 

U 

Ulysses,  50;  the  ideal  of  Homer, 
240. 

Unheard  musical  notes  tested  elec- 
trically, 81. 

Universities  as  offsprings  of  Christi- 
anity, ICO. 

Unsuspected  treasures  in  man,  172. 

Universal  acceptance  of  evolution, 
an ;  universal  longings  for  solu- 
tion of  the  "  next  world  "  prob- 
lem, 343. 

Unity  of  man  established  by  science, 
218. 

Universality  of  trouble,  267. 

Unseen,  the,  revealed  through  in- 
carnation, 278. 

Unity  of  the  moral  realm,  319. 


416 


Index 


Ultimate  revelation  of  every  secret 

thing,  367. 
Use,  the,  of  the  syrribol  of  the  cross, 

375- 

V 

Victories    of   Christianity   involve 

new  difficulties,  26. 
Vane,  43. 
Vesuvius,  49. 

Victoria's,  Queen,  jubilee,  51. 
Von  Rile,  65,  153. 
Valjean,  Jean,  no,  364. 
Venus  de  Milo,  117,  251. 
Voltaire,  118. 
Voice,  the,   of  conscience  within, 

152;  of  physiology,  356. 
Variety,  the,  and  wealth  of  God's 

mind  and  heart,  154. 
Vision,  the,   splendid,  171 ;    hours 

God's  torches,  173. 
Vastness,  of  the  world  and  limit  of 

man's  grasp,  186 ;  of  our  earth, 

313 ;  of  the  realms  of  knowledge, 

SIS- 

View  of  the  universe  as  a  mechan- 
ism of  laws  and  forces,  190. 

Vague  devotion  not  satisfying  to 
the  soul,  193. 

Violin  player's,  the,  genius  devel- 
oped by  love  of  music,  328. 

W 
Webster,  8 ;  Daniel  and  Ezekiel,  9 ; 

Daniel  Webster's  words  in  Girard 

College  case,  u,  35,  98, 258,  302. 
Whitney,  8. 
Wycliffe,  10,  23,  381. 
Whitfield,  17,  381. 
Wesley,  17. 
Wallace,    William,     19;      Alfred 

Russell,  210. 
Watt,  23,  79,  80,  153,  262 ;   system 

of  mechanics,  285. 


Wordsworth,  23,70, 147 ;  his  genius 
lay  in  one  direction,  185 ;  Words- 
worth at  Grasmere,  270. 

White's,  ex-President,  lament,  31. 

Whittier,  31 ;  meaning  of  his  name, 
91. 

Ware,  Mary,  44. 

What  would  happen  if  Christian 
rulers  were  on  the  five  great 
thrones  of  modern  times,  59. 

Watson,  74. 

Words  best  loved  by  young  and 
old,  75. 

Washington,  95,  376. 

Wonders  of  man's  mind,  161 ;  of 
necromancy  as  nothing  to  the 
marvels  ascribed  to  laws,  192. 

We  know  but  in  part,  184. 

World's,  the,  history  in  aeons,  204. 

Watchmen  at  night  in  Paris,  226. 

Wren's,  Christopher,  cathedral,  230. 

Warfare  in  the  Parthenon,  233. 

Westminster  Abbey,  239. 

Work,  the,  of  reason,  261. 

Way,  the,  also  a  symbol  of  friend- 
ship, 295;  its  use  in  Abraham's 
day,  295 ;  beauty  of  its  develop- 
ment, 295. 

Warnings  and  barriers  placed  by 
love,  357. 

Westminster,  the,  divines,  362. 

Woolsey's,  President,  tribute  to  our 
Christian  ancestors,  382. 


Xenophon's  description  of  the 
mercenaries,  194 ;  Xenophon's 
story,  322. 

Xavier,  Francis,  364. 


Zeus,  182. 


Ethics  and  Revelation 

BY 

HENRY   S.    NASH 

Professor  in  the  Episcopal  Theological  School  at  Cambridge,  Author 
of  "  Genesis  of  the  Social  Conscience,"  etc. 

Cloth.     12mo.     Price,  $1.50 

"  This  is  a  great  book.  It  is  a  poem  in  prose,  a  study  in  English  —  felicitous 
and  forcible,  a  study  in  history  and  sociology,  in  the  subjective  spiritual  life  and  ii 
ecclesiastical  fundamentals.  The  author  is  a  rare  rhetorician  and  guides  one  through 
gardens  of  beauty,  but  they  are  gardens  among  the  mountains.  One  is  in  danger  of 
marring  the  margins  of  the  pages  by  marking  brilliant,  strong,  and  epigrammatic 
passages  for  re-reading.  There  is  a  tendency  to  repetition,  but  it  is  in  such  varied 
forms  and  is  always  so  fresh  that  it  serves  the  ends  of  emphasis.  I  wish  I  could 
induce  every  young  minister  to  read  the  opening  chapter,  and  then  to  read  and  re- 
read pages  154,  155, 166, 167, 175-178.  But  it  will  never  do  to  cull  or  indicate.  Every 
word  of  the  six  lectures  should  be  read  by  thoughtful  men  of  the  day,  ministers  and 
laymen,  believers  and  skeptics." —  John  H.  Vincent. 

"  Mr.  Nash  writes  forcibly  and  clearly  on  his  chosen  themes,  and  the  resulting 
volume  is  an  addition  to  the  literature  of  modern  theological  interpretation  that  will 
be  read  by  many  clergymen  and  laymen  with  interest."  —  Boston  Transcript. 


Genesis  of  the  Social  Conscience 

THE  RELATION  BETWEEN  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  CHRIS- 
TIANITY IN  EUROPE  AND  THE  SOCIAL  QUESTION 

BY 
HENRY  S.  NASH 

Professor  in  the  Episcopal  Theological  School  in  Cambridge,  Author 
of  "Ethics  and  Revelation"  etc, 

Cloth.     8vo.     Price,  $1.50 

"  The  reader's  interest  in  the  subject  never  falters,  and  the  book  is  worthy  of 
thoughtful  reading  from  cover  to  cover."  —  Living  Church. 

"  The  volume  is  most  decidedly  to  be  commended.  ...  It  is  packed  with  mate- 
rial, but  all  is  illuminated  with  the  light  of  faith  in  God,  and  glows  with  the  warmth 
of  love  to  God  and  the  true  enthusiasm  of  humanity." —  Wooster  Post  Graduate. 

"  We  have  here  brilliant  forms  of  statement,  a  powerful  defence  of  Christianized 
democracy,  and  an  apologetic  argument  of  high  value." 

—  A merican  Journal  of  Theology. 

"  Professor  Nash  writes  with  spirit,  he  is  above  all  things  interesting;  and  his 
work,  besides  being  an  important  contribution  to  the  history  and  science  of  sociology, 
is  an  invaluable  apologetic  for  the  Christian  faith."  —  Epworth  Herald. 

"  It  is  saturated  with  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity.  It  is  rich  in  lofty  ideals.  It 
is  a  thought-provoking  book."  —  Our  Bible  Teacher. 


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